Brandon Knight and Dee Brown Headline Gatorade NBA Training Center in the Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight and former NBA player DeCovan “Dee” Brown will tip off NBA FIT Week in the Philippines by training elite Filipino athletes and coaches at this year’s Gatorade NBA Training Center, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Gatorade announced today. The 2016 Gatorade NBA Training Center will be held at the Gatorade Hoops Center at Mandaluyong City on July 19.

Returning for the third consecutive year, the Gatorade NBA Training Center will gather experts in basketball, fitness and conditioning, and nutrition to share best practices and learnings with elite local athletes and coaches. NBA FIT Week, which begins July 19 in the Philippines, will highlight the importance of healthy, active lifestyles through three pillars: be active, eat healthy, and play together. Additional NBA FIT Week activities include an interactive fan event featuring Globe Telecom’s sports ambassadors at the BGC Amphitheater on July 20, a full-day health and wellness event sponsored by the NBA Store, and an NBA Cares clinic for 13-year-old boys and girls from Special Olympics Philippines at TriNoma Activity Center on July 21.

“Being a great player is the product of maintaining good workout, eating and sleeping habits,” said Knight. “I’m looking forward to participating in NBA FIT Week and teaching talented young players in the Philippines the importance of fitness and nutrition both on and off the court.”

“I’m excited to visit the Philippines for the first time and experience the passion that Filipino fans have for basketball,” said Brown. “Having had the opportunity to work in the NBA, WNBA, and NBA D-League, I look forward to sharing my coaching knowledge and providing valuable insights on fitness and conditioning to help athletes and coaches elevate their games to the next level.”

The Gatorade NBA Training Center on July 19 will feature both Knight and Brown running a basketball clinic for Filipino college basketball players and Brown sharing his coaching philosophies with professional and collegiate coaches in an exclusive coaches session.

Knight, a 6’3” guard from the University of Kentucky, was selected eighth overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2011 NBA Draft. Knight spent 2013-15 with the Milwaukee Bucks before joining the Phoenix Suns midway through the 2015 season and averaged 19.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Suns last season.

Brown played for the Boston Celtics (1990-98), Toronto Raptors (1998-00) and Orlando Magic (2000-02) during his 12-year NBA career and won the Slam Dunk Contest at NBA All-Star 1991. Following his retirement as a player, Brown served as head coach of the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle (2002) and San Antonio Silver Stars (2004) prior to joining the NBA D-League’s Springfield Armor as head coach (2009-11). Brown most recently served as an assistant coach for the Pistons (2011-13) and Sacramento Kings (2013-15).

Follow Gatorade on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gatoradeph to learn more about the Gatorade NBA Training Center Philippines. For all things NBA, visit www.nba.com and follow the league on Facebook (www.facebook.com/philsnba) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/nba_philippines).

Boosting Data Quality Can Optimize Your Company’s Performance

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Over the years, the rapid development of information technology has greatly optimized the day-to-day operations of businesses. Companies collect and store an enormous amount of data, which in return, demands superior and diligent data management. However, organizations typically overestimate the quality of their data and the cost of errors, according to a study.

Because of this, Third Pillar Business Applications Inc. – a globally recognized business partner in providing best-in-class services and solutions – helps businesses transform their organization into a more innovative, cost-effective, and revenue-earning business through exceptional data governance.

According to Alan Alipao, managing director and head of consulting of Third Pillar, a regular data assessment and cleansing for data quality maintenance should become a standard practice to all organizations. “It informs the organization as to where the risks are within the data, thus allowing them to create preventive measures against business process failures, non-compliance, and other scenarios leading to profit losses.”

Data cleansing is the process of amending or removing data in a database that is incorrect, incomplete, improperly formatted, or duplicated.

Transport Department, Smart Ink Deal for Free WiFi access in Key Transport Hubs

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In the effort to enhance connectivity and modernize the transportation systems, the Department of Transportation and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today that will provide enhanced Wi-Fi access to passengers of key transport hubs nationwide, including but not limited to airports, sea ports, train stations. and bus terminals.

“Passengers will now enjoy free WiFi connections during their stay in various transport hubs. We aim to provide high standards and better services to the public,” Tugade added.”

Smart said the WiFi speed will be 10 times faster, at par with international standards.

“We thank our partner, Smart, for supporting the government’s thrust to make passengers’ travel experience more comfortable, convenient and connected,” Tugade added.

Tugade further emphasized that this initiative demonstrates what can be accomplished with public-private sector cooperation.

Under the MoU, Smart will operate and maintain the Wi-Fi facility at no cost to the government. The telecom company has identified key transport hubs nationwide in which to implement the project.

Last week, the Department of Transportation and local airline companies signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the upkeep of Manila airport terminals.