NBA Rosters Feature Record 113 International Players from 41 Countries and Territories

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that a record 113 international players from a record 41 countries and territories are on opening night rosters for the 2016-17 season. This marks the third consecutive season that opening night rosters feature at least 100 international players and that all 30 teams have at least one international player.

Opening night rosters feature a record number of European (61), African (14) and Spanish (8) players. Canada has the most of any country for the third straight year with 11 NBA players. France comes in second for the third consecutive year with 10 NBA players. Brazil features a record-tying nine players, Australia features a record-tying eight players, while Croatia has a record-tying five NBA players.

The Utah Jazz leads the league with seven international players, while the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors each feature six. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks field five each.

The NBA’s 71st season begins tonight with a doubleheader on TNT as part of Kia NBA Tip-Off 2016. In the opening game, the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers will host the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. ET. In the second game, the San Antonio Spurs visit the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 p.m. for a matchup of the teams with the league’s best records last season. In addition, the Portland Trail Blazers will host the Utah Jazz at 10 p.m. ET on NBA LEAGUE PASS.

A number of high-profile international players are scheduled to make their NBA debut during opening week, including:

· Dragan Bender (Croatia), the No. 4 overall selection, and the Phoenix Suns are home vs. the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 10 p.m. ET on NBA LEAGUE PASS

· Buddy Hield (Bahamas), the No. 6 overall selection, and Jamal Murray (Canada), the No. 7 overall selection, will go head-to-head when the New Orleans Pelicans host the Nuggets on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on NBA LEAGUE PASS

· Jakob Poeltl, the No. 9 overall selection and the first Austrian player in NBA history, and the Raptors are home vs. the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA LEAGUE PASS

· Thon Maker (South Sudan), the No. 10 overall selection, and the Milwaukee Bucks will host the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on NBA LEAGUE PASS

· 2014 lottery selections Joel Embiid (Cameroon) and Dario Saric (Croatia) and the 76ers are home vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN


The previous records for international players (101) and countries and territories represented (39) were set at the start of the 2014-15 and 2013-14 seasons, respectively. NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories.

Below please find the full list of international players on 2016-17 opening night rosters

(active and inactive):

Country	Full Name	NBA Team
Argentina	Luis Scola	Brooklyn Nets
Argentina	Nicolas Brussino	Dallas Mavericks
Argentina	Nicolas Laprovittola	San Antonio Spurs
Argentina	Manu Ginobili	San Antonio Spurs
Australia	Kyrie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers
Australia	Andrew Bogut	Dallas Mavericks
Australia	Aron Baynes	Detroit Pistons
Australia	Matthew Dellavedova	Milwaukee Bucks
Australia	Ben Simmons	Philadelphia 76ers
Australia	Patty Mills	San Antonio Spurs
Australia	Dante Exum	Utah Jazz
Australia	Joe Ingles	Utah Jazz
Austria	Jakob Poeltl	Toronto Raptors
Bahamas	Buddy Hield	New Orleans Pelicans
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Jusuf Nurkic	Denver Nuggets
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Ivica Zubac	Los Angeles Lakers
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Mirza Teletovic	Milwaukee Bucks
Brazil	Tiago Splitter	Atlanta Hawks
Brazil	Cristiano Felicio	Chicago Bulls
Brazil	Anderson Varejao	Golden State Warriors
Brazil	Nene	Houston Rockets
Brazil	Marcelo Huertas	Los Angeles Lakers
Brazil	Leandro Barbosa	Phoenix Suns
Brazil	Bruno Caboclo	Toronto Raptors
Brazil	Lucas Nogueira	Toronto Raptors
Brazil	Raul Neto	Utah Jazz
Cameroon	Luc Mbah a Moute	LA Clippers
Cameroon	Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers
Cameroon	Pascal Siakam	Toronto Raptors
Canada	Kelly Olynyk	Boston Celtics
Canada	Anthony Bennett	Brooklyn Nets
Canada	Tristan Thompson	Cleveland Cavaliers
Canada	Dwight Powell	Dallas Mavericks
Canada	Jamal Murray	Denver Nuggets
Canada	Tyler Ennis	Houston Rockets
Canada	Andrew Wiggins	Minnesota Timberwolves
Canada	Nik Stauskas	Philadelphia 76ers
Canada	Cory Joseph	Toronto Raptors
Canada	Trey Lyles	Utah Jazz
Canada	Andrew Nicholson	Washington Wizards
Cape Verde	Walter Tavares	Atlanta Hawks
Congo	Serge Ibaka	Orlando Magic
Croatia	Bojan Bogdanovic	Brooklyn Nets
Croatia	Damjan Rudez	Orlando Magic
Croatia	Mario Hezonja	Orlando Magic
Croatia	Dario Saric	Philadelphia 76ers
Croatia	Dragan Bender	Phoenix Suns
Czech Republic	Tomas Satoransky	Washington Wizards
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Emmanuel Mudiay	Denver Nuggets
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Bismack Biyombo	Orlando Magic
Dominican Republic	Al Horford	Boston Celtics
France	Nicolas Batum	Charlotte Hornets
France	Kevin Seraphin	Indiana Pacers
France	Alexis Ajinca	New Orleans Pelicans
France	Joffrey Lauvergne	Oklahoma City Thunder
France	Evan Fournier	Orlando Magic
France	Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot	Philadelphia 76ers
France	Tony Parker	San Antonio Spurs
France	Boris Diaw	Utah Jazz
France	Rudy Gobert	Utah Jazz
France	Ian Mahinmi	Washington Wizards
Georgia	Zaza Pachulia	Golden State Warriors
Germany	Dennis Schroder	Atlanta Hawks
Germany	Paul Zipser	Chicago Bulls
Germany	Dirk Nowitzki	Dallas Mavericks
Greece	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks
Greece	Georgios Papagiannis	Sacramento Kings
Haiti	Skal Labissiere	Sacramento Kings
Israel	Omri Casspi	Sacramento Kings
Italy	Marco Belinelli	Charlotte Hornets
Italy	Danilo Gallinari	Denver Nuggets
Latvia	Kristaps Porzingis	New York Knicks
Latvia	Davis Bertans	San Antonio Spurs
Lithuania	Mindaugas Kuzminskas	New York Knicks
Lithuania	Domantas Sabonis	Oklahoma City Thunder
Lithuania	Jonas Valanciunas	Toronto Raptors
Mali	Cheick Diallo	New Orleans Pelicans
Montenegro	Nikola Mirotic	Chicago Bulls
Montenegro	Nikola Pekovic	Minnesota Timberwolves
Montenegro	Nikola Vucevic	Orlando Magic
New Zealand	Steven Adams	Oklahoma City Thunder
Nigeria	Festus Ezeli	Portland Trail Blazers
Poland	Marcin Gortat	Washington Wizards
Puerto Rico	Jose Juan Barea	Dallas Mavericks
Russia	Timofey Mozgov	Los Angeles Lakers
Senegal	Gorgui Dieng	Minnesota Timberwolves
Senegal	Maurice Ndour	New York Knicks
Serbia	Nikola Jokic	Denver Nuggets
Serbia	Boban Marjanovic	Detroit Pistons
Serbia	Nemanja Bjelica	Minnesota Timberwolves
Slovenia	Beno Udrih	Detroit Pistons
Slovenia	Goran Dragic	Miami Heat
Slovenia	Sasha Vujacic	New York Knicks
South Sudan	Luol Deng	Los Angeles Lakers
South Sudan	Thon Maker	Milwaukee Bucks
Spain	Juancho Hernangomez	Denver Nuggets
Spain	Jose Calderon	Los Angeles Lakers
Spain	Marc Gasol	Memphis Grizzlies
Spain	Ricky Rubio	Minnesota Timberwolves
Spain	Guillermo Hernangomez	New York Knicks
Spain	Alex Abrines	Oklahoma City Thunder
Spain	Sergio Rodriguez	Philadelphia 76ers
Spain	Pau Gasol	San Antonio Spurs
Sweden	Jonas Jerebko	Boston Celtics
Switzerland	Thabo Sefolosha	Atlanta Hawks
Switzerland	Clint Capela	Houston Rockets
Tunisia	Salah Mejri	Dallas Mavericks
Turkey	Omer Asik	New Orleans Pelicans
Turkey	Enes Kanter	Oklahoma City Thunder
Turkey	Ersan Ilyasova	Oklahoma City Thunder
Ukraine	Alex Len	Phoenix Suns
Ukraine	Joel Bolomboy	Utah Jazz
Venezuela	Greivis Vasquez	Brooklyn Nets

Globe Telecom to Homeowners: It Takes 4 Radio-Safety Permits from DOH for 1 Cell Site

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Just as Globe Telecom has asked for greater cooperation with LGUs and the DPWH, the company also seeks cooperation from homeowners’ associations (HOAs) to facilitate building cell sites to improve internet services. Globe cell sites have been issued radiation-safety certificates by the Department of Health, proof that radio frequency signals coming from such facilities do not pose any adverse health impact, the company said.

“At the minimum, we get four permits from the Department of Health each time we put up a cell site. This ensures our facilities adhere to global health standards. These radiation-safety certificates should allay concerns over alleged health hazard that most HOAs are concerned about. If we really want first-world internet connectivity, we should be able to provide reliable internet services in every home at least within the metropolis,” said Globe General Counsel Atty. Froilan Castelo said.

The radiation-safety certificates issued by DOH are based on guidelines issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) on maximum human exposures to radio frequency fields, Castelo explained.

“It is quite ironic that homes of big businessowners and entrepreneurs do not have internet connection only because their HOAs refuse to allow telcos in,” added Castelo.

He said that getting the permission of the HOAs is a major hurdle in building a cell site. “Even if we present permits and certificates from the DOH, we still need to undergo a long and tedious process. We have to get a barangay permit, appear in public hearings, win the referendum before we are allowed to build a cell site in any exclusive village,” he said.

Getting the go signal from the HOA is one of the 25 permits that is very difficult to get and severely delays infrastructure builds to more than a year, according to Castelo.

No less that the World Health Organization already issued a position that radio frequency signals coming from cell sites do not pose any adverse health effects as these are classified by WHO as non-ionizing, which means there is no adverse impact to human and animal cells. Other low frequency devices that emit non-ionizing radio signals include transistor radios, microwave ovens and baby monitors.

This is so much different from ionizing radiations known to have adverse health risks such as x-rays, ultraviolet rays and gamma rays that can break the chemical bonds in DNA. Studies conducted by WHO, the world’s most trusted authority on health issues, indicate there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak radiofrequency signals from cell sites or base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects, he explained.

He lamented that despite radiation safety certificates from DOH and assurances from WHO, several villages have lobbied for the removal of cell sites in their areas, citing health risks. Such villages include Sitio Calvary Hills in Barangay Apas, Cebu City, Green Meadows Subdivision in Quezon City; Upper Market Subdivision, Baguio City. The removal of cell sites from some of these areas, however, resulted in degradation of mobile services to the detriment of other customers within the 5-kilometer radius area.

Globe Lifestyle Launches 1st Apparel Lineup with 0917 & Pop Art Collections

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In celebration of the annual 0917 fest, Globe launches its new collections of lifestyle apparel and accessories. The new collections represent the vibrant and wonderful world of Globe, through colorful prints, fun designs and graphical pop arts. The collection ranges from shirts, sweaters, hoodies, and caps, which are available in two must-have designs.

The 0917 collection is a typography-based basic wear, taking inspiration from Globe related culture. These are words that resemble the company which is the famous “0917” prefix, the company’s building address of “32nd street corner 7th ave” in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

On the other hand, the Pop Art collection is a graphical-based lineup that shows fun and colorful artworks that is designed to stand out. Inspired by today’s generation, the lineup illustrates artworks that look old-fashioned combined with new elements and produce a retro-fashion look.

“Globe Lifestyle is our new way to connect to our customers, we bring a fresh and wonderful experience through fashion. The new collections of 0917 and Pop Art is just the beginning and customers can expect more lifestyle products to be launched soon.” says Globe Stores and Retail Transformation Head, Joe Caliro.

CIAC, Qatar Airways Agree to Aggressively Market Clark Airport

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) rolled out the business opportunities in the development of the Clark International Airport (CRK), with Qatar Airways laying down expansion plans to target upscale travelers going to destinations in Europe, the USA and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

This, after President Rodrigo Duterte earlier announced the greater utilization of the Clark airport as international gateway, as a move to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. The other day Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arturo Tugade said that among the benefits from the recent trip of the President to China is the increase in flights through the CRK.

Officials of CIAC led by its President and CEO Alexander S. Cauguiran met Monday (Oct. 24) with Qatar Airlines country manager Paolo Pausini on further cooperation and strengthened partnership in developing and making CRK more active.

Qatar Airways is a major international carrier at CRK, with regular flights for its Clark-Doha route, servicing mostly overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Central and Northern Luzon.

Pausini said Qatar Airways is looking to expand its market by developing leisure, business and corporate traffic to Europe, the USA and the Gulf countries by tapping into its network in the Philippines, South Africa, North Africa and the Middle East.

Sec. Tugade's Statement on Claims of Outgoing US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Duterte administration remains to be ridiculed with irregularity issues and conspiracy theories. It seems that foreign perception continues to be a blur.

Below is Department of Transportation Secretary Art Tugade's statement on claims of outgoing US ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg about his “unpublicized China trip” in June 2016.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade denied claims of outgoing US ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg about his “unpublicized China trip” in June 2016.

“If it is true that Ambassador Goldberg said that, then the fabled American “intelligence network” has miserably failed again. Tsismis yan! Was never in Beijing in June! You can always examine my passport anytime.” He said.

Speaking to ANC's Headstart, Goldberg mentioned that he is aware that Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade made a trip to China last June even before President Rodrigo Duterte's recent state visit to Beijing, which later on led to the increase of China’s investment and loan pledges to the Philippines.

Rocco Nacino and Morissette Amon: Brand Ambassadors of New Social Media App Findr

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Actor Rocco Nacino and singer Morissette Amon were recently announced as the Brand Ambassadors of the newest social media app called Findr.

At the VIP and Media Launch held on October 25, 2016 at the The Eye of Green Sun Hotel in Makati city, both Rocco and Morissette find the app very useful so they could easily not only interesting events and places but also like-minded individuals who share their common interests. Since Rocco is also a businessman, he could also post his businesses on the Findr app, while Morissette can post her concerts and music gigs, thus both of them becoming content providers as well. You can find out more by watching our video coverage of the event that we will upload soon.

Also gracing the event was motoring journalist and TV host James Deakin who also shared his thoughts about the Findr app. We have his all his convincing statements documented on video as he shared how we need a social media app which filters out the unnecessary information or news that we don't really need - like breakfast in the morning, or political rants, that often pollute social media networks like Facebook and the rest.

Findr is the brainchild of Salvador "Buddy" Silva Jr. III, Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Satellite GPS Tracking and Asset Management System Corporation, the company that developed Findr, and also SafeSat, which is their commercial version of the app. Findr is designed for the consumers, while SafeSat is for businesses especially those in the logistics and distribution industry.

We also had a special video interview with Buddy, as well as with Findr Co-Founder and Technical Manager Angelo Kaufmann, who was in charge of the overall development of the Findr app.

Catalyst ‘Adventure-Proof’ Cases for Apple Devices Now Available at Power Mac Center

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Power Mac Center proudly welcomes lifestyle brand Catalyst to the family of Apple devices accessories available at their branches.

A media launch was held on October 25, 2016 at the Power Mac Center Rockwell Power Plant Mall where executives from both Power Mac Center and Catalyst were present to discuss the latest addition to the many brands carried by the Apple Premium Reseller. Power Mac Center Marketing Director Joey Alvarez welcomed the Catalyst brand represented by Andrew Lee, Business Development Manager of Catalyst.

Lee, aside from giving details about the brand and its products, also did a demo of an iPhone, enclosed inside one of their cases, dipped into water, to prove that it would still work afterwards. He even dipped into water his own iPhone which was also enclosed in a Catalyst case.

The Catalyst brand boast of 'adventure-proof' products that will keep your gadgets safe from risks of water, drop, dirt or shock. Since adventurers can be categorized into many kinds like surfers, mountain climbers, skateboarders, etc., it is of good relief for many risk takers and challenge seekers to find protection for their gadgets so they could carry them even at extreme events or places. After all, gadgets are nowadays no longer a luxury but a necessity. 

Many people cannot live without their gadgets which could be their iPhone or iPad. With the help of cases from Catalyst, their worries are lessened and their limitations went up a notch. Many can now relax and calm down when their gadgets accidentally fall on both land or water.

DOE Pushes Energy Projects As “Projects of National Significance”

Wazzup Pilipinas!

“Faster realization of energy projects fuels the growth of the Philippine economy,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.

Anchoring it to better economic standing and the business climate, the Department of Energy together with its industry participants are rallying for the passage of a piece of legislation that labels energy projects as, “Projects of National Significance”.

“Let us do away with the usual red tape such as the processing of lengthy permits, dues and waiting for a succession of signatories. Instead, our efforts should be focused on accelerating energy security.”

President Rodrigo Duterte’s Administration’s has pledged to cut red tape to attract more investors to do business in the country.

His first order was to require all the Department Secretaries and Heads of agencies to remove redundant requirements and reduce the processing time for all applications.

In compliance thereof, Secretary Cusi emphasized, “We are aiming for the institutionalization of energy projects to be classified as ‘Projects of National Significance’ to set the progressive pace for energy developers.”

“This concern was brought up by the DOE to Congress in order to safeguard future and even existing energy projects,” Cusi informed.