Philippines remain unbeaten on Day 3 of SEABA Championship 2017

12 Phuoc Thang Le (VIE) - Myanmar v Vietnam, 2017 SEABA Men Championship (PHI), Manila - Smart Araneta Coliseum, Manila(Philippines), 14 May 2017

SEABA CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 RESULTS:

• Indonesia beat Thailand, 60-59
• Vietnam beat Myanmar, 77-44
• Philippines beat Malaysia, 106-51

MANILA (SEABA Championship 2017) - Indonesia had to scrape by Thailand even as Vietnam and the Philippines routed their respective foes during Day 3 at the SEABA Championship 2017 in Manila.

The day's opening game proved to be a down-the-wire thriller, but it eventually went Indonesia's way as they outlasted Thailand, 60-59. In a game that featured multiple ties and lead changes, it was Mario Wuysang who came up huge in the endgame to hit the marginal basket. This happened after Sorot Sunthonsiri gave Thailand their last taste of the lead, 59-58. Moments after, Wuysang brought the ball to the left corner and drilled the game-winning bucket. In the game's final sequence, Indonesia forced Thai playmaker Nattakarn Muangboon into a crucial turnover that all but sealed their fate.

The loss wasted a big game from Chitchai Ananti, who scored 24 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Indonesia, meanwhile, were led by Sandy Kurniawan, who hit 5 three-pointers on his way to 17 points. He got ample support from Dodo Sitepu, who registered 9 points, 6 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. The Indons moved up to 3-0, while the Thais absorbed their first defeat of the tournament.

In the second game, Vietnam notched their first win of the competition at Myanmar's expense, 77-44. Nguyen Van Hung dazzled for the victors with 22 points on 11-of-18 field goal shooting, while Tran Vu Linh added 18 points. Vietnam dominated the interior in this contest, winning the rebound battle, 53-35, and outscoring Myanmar around the basket, 60-24.

Myanmar led very briefly at the start of the game, but once Vietnam got into a groove, they never let go of the advantage. Aung Wana paced Myanmar with 21 points on the back of 2 three-pointers.

To close out the evening, the Philippines recorded another lopsided result, routing Malaysia, 106-51. Malaysia actually scored the first two points of the game, but it was all Gilas Pilipinas after that. The home team built a 19-point lead after the first quarter and never looked back.

VIDEO: Philippines vs Malaysia

Malaysia just had no answer for the Filipinos' superior size and skill. The winners were +21 in rebounding and +13 in assists. Gilas Pilipinas also forced 18 Malaysia turnovers, which they turned into 19 points. Andray Blatche and Troy Rosario each scored 13 points for the Philippines, while Terrence Romeo and Matthew Wright added a dozen points apiece as their team moves into a tie for first place with Indonesia at 3-0.

Most of coach Goh Cheng Huat's wards had a very challenging time trying to score against the bigger Filipinos. Heng Yee Tong and Ting Chun Hong led the losing side with 12 and 10 points respectively. Malaysia drop to the bottom of the team standings with zero wins in three games.

Gilas Pilipinas will take a breather on Day 4 before they return to action on Day 5 opposite Thailand, who take on Myanmar tomorrow. Neighbors Singapore and Malaysia play each other in the second game of Day 4 right before Indonesia are tested by Vietnam in the nightcap. read more at FIBA

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Philippines Making Great Progresses in Health Care for 92% Insurance- WHO

Philippine Health Insurance coverage through PhilHealth riseup  to 92% to all Filipinos in 2017

PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE

The Philippines is chalking up improvements in the health-care sector, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, while pointing out that challenges remain for the country.

Dr Shin Young-soo, Regional Director for the Western Pacific of WHO, said statistics indicate that Filipinos now are living longer lives than before and this is largely due to collaborative efforts of the government, development partners and stakeholders.

“The Philippines has so many health achievements to celebrate: people born today can expect to live for more than 70 years. Innovative taxation schemes have pushed back unhealthy behaviors and tripled the health budget. More than 92 per cent of all Filipinos now benefit from national health insurance,” Dr Shin said.

Health care in the country has grown by leaps and bounds with more people getting access to medical maintenance services. In 1995, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was established. Its mandate is to provide health insurance coverage to all Filipinos.

As of 2014, 14.7 million families have been enrolled into the system through a full National Government subsidy.

But while the Philippines is making improvements in providing health-care coverage to more Filipinos, challenges remain for the country.

“The Philippines is a fast-growing economy undergoing profound societal transformation. However, with growth and changing lifestyles come challenges of non-communicable diseases,” Dr Shin said,

Health conditions linked to poverty remain. Some 30 per cent of Filipino children are malnourished and around 30 per cent of the population lack regular access to essential medicines.

“While health insurance coverage is high, out-of-pocket payments remain high, accounting for more than half of the country’s total health expenditure,” she said.

Dr Shin said the challenge for the country is how to sustain current achievements in health care will be the “heart of WHO’s work in the country in the next five years.”

WHO and the Philippines Department of Health (DOH) launched the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), a mechanism which defines WHO’s strategic framework and aligns it with national health policies and programs.

The focus of the WHO CCS 2017—2022 are five unique strategic priorities that include saving lives by ensuring full access to life-saving interventions, promoting the well-being of people by empowering them to lead healthy lives, protection from disasters and mitigating its effects on peoples’ health, optimization of health architecture and maintaining its integrity and use of platforms for health and support health in all settings, policies and sectors.

“In the coming six years, we look forward to continuing to work together as partners in health [care] for the more than 100 million people of the Philippines and the 1.9 billion people of the Western Pacific Region,” Shin concluded.

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