ProudPinoy

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Saudi man splurges $136,000 on vintage bubbly

Source: AP

DUBAI - A Saudi millionaire splurged $136,000 on a bottle of champagne at Dubai's glitzy Cavalli club over the weekend, a UAE newspaper reported on Tuesday.

"The Saudi Arabian and his friends guzzled" a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal in the early hours of Saturday morning, the 7DAYS newspaper said, citing the club's manager David Lescarret,

The vintage bottle was "one of just three believed to be available worldwide," the paper added.

Lescarret said the other two were for sale at nightclubs in New York and London.

He described the unidentified Saudi national as a "well educated gentleman... who spoke several languages and ordered the bottle in French."

According to 7DAYS, the Cristal bottle was from a "batch made in 1990 in Champagne, France," originally intended for the Millenium celebrations.

Lescarret would not divulge the Saudi's total bill for the night, saying only that it was "very high" and included a "luxurious dinner."

The manager said the Cavalli club bought the champagne at a Christie's auction house in London at a cost of around $93,000.

Saudi nationals often travel to neighbouring Dubai for entertainment since alcohol is forbidden in the ultra-conservative kingdom and unrelated men and women are banned from socialising in public.

Lebanese Mohammad El Akkari Scores 113 Points in 173-141 Win

MANILA, Philippines – A Lebanese basketball player has joined the 100-point club, a rare group of players with more than 100 points in a single game.

Mohammad El Akkari of West Asian Basketball (WABA) League’s Moutahed scored 113 points in the Tripoli side’s 173-141 win against Bejjeh last Tuesday, according to FIBA Asia.

Akkari’s feat was the first in all of the leagues in FIBA Asia's National Federations, according to FIBA Asia.

A Filipino basketball player is also in the 100-point club.

Lou Salvador scored 116 points for the Philippines against China in the 1923 Far Eastern Games.

The most popular member of the 100-point club is NBA great Wilt Chamberlain.

Chamberlain scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors against against the New York Knicks in 1962.

32 3-pointers

During the game against Bejjeh, Akkari sank 32 three-pointers out of 59 attempts for a 40-out-of-69 field shooting. He only had one free-throw during the match.

“Thank God for this performance. I think it’s all a result of my practice,” Akkari said. “I also want to thank my coach for letting me play that long and all my teammates for helping.”

Moutahed coach Ahmad Fadel commended the 27-year-old Akkari.

“He’s a phenomenal but very underrated shooter. He puts in a lot of hard work in practice. I am not surprised,” Fadel said.

Until his super feat last Tuesday, Akkari was just an “average player” during this WABA season where he has averaged 7.6 points in 23 games.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Thibodeau: Have patience with Rose

Source: nwherald.com

CHICAGO – Derrick Rose walked toward the Bulls’ locker room without any hint of a limp about 90 minutes before Monday’s game against the Houston Rockets.

However, fans will have to keep waiting for Rose’s stroll to turn into a sprint.

Rose missed his 11th consecutive game because of a strained right groin but could be nearing a return as the regular season enters its final four weeks.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he expected Rose to return before the end of the regular season. Although Thibodeau did not provide a timeline for Rose’s return, he said the team was encouraged by Rose’s progress and emphasized patience for a full recovery.

“He has been running,” said Thibodeau, who also met with Rose before the game. “He’s adding on to what he’s doing each and every day, so that’s the encouraging thing.

“He’s doing more and more and not having any repercussions the next day. He’s going step by step, and we just have to be patient and let him work through it, and he’ll be fine.”

Another honor: Thibodeau collected another award Monday when he was named as the NBA’s Eastern Conference coach of the month for March.

Thibodeau has earned the monthly award five times in less than two full seasons with the Bulls. He won three times during the 2010-11 season en route to receiving the NBA’s coach of the year award, and he also earned the award this January.

The Bulls went 13-3 in March, including 6-0 on the road, under Thibodeau’s leadership. Thibodeau deflected credit for his recognition by the league.

“That’s a byproduct of a good team and a good coaching staff and a good organization,” Thibodeau said.

Conference pride: Bulls guard Ronnie Brewer played for the Arkansas Razorbacks, but that did not stop him from cheering for a rival in the NCAA championship game.

Brewer, 27, said he wanted the Kentucky Wildcats to knock off the Kansas Jayhawks.

“Even though that’s a rival, you still want them,” said Brewer, who still closely follows Arkansas’ program. “There’s always bragging rights when a team from the SEC wins. Because if they beat you, you can be like, ‘Well, they won the national championship.’ ”

Bulls bits: The Bulls have six home games and five road games remaining in the regular season. … A crowd of 21,936 marked the Bulls’ 81st consecutive sellout at the United Center.

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Pampanga meat processing firm wins Int’l award in Switzerland

Source: goodnewspilipinas.com

Madrid-based Business Initiative Directions (BID) gave the Century International Quality Era (CQE) Gold Award to meat processing company Mekeni Food Corp. during its 14th convention in Geneva, Switzerland.

Prudencio Garcia, Mekeni president, shared the news last week in a letter to Levy Laus, chairman of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham).
“We would like to share with you and our PamCham members the good news that once again Mekeni Food Corp. had scored another first in the Philippines’ food industry by being awarded the Century International Quality Era-Gold Award,” Garcia said.
The award, he said, put Mekeni in the league of top global corporations that have been recognized for quality.
In a statement, Laus lauded Mekeni, saying it now serves as a model to Kapampangan and Filipino businessmen in terms of product quality and corporate excellence.
BID, a private organization, selects the winners through the principles of a quality model being implemented by companies in more than 100 countries.
Criteria include customer satisfaction, communication strategies, benchmarking, information and data analysis, leadership, planning and decision making, human resources, processes and production, financial outcome and business results.
The awards are divided into the gold, platinum and diamond categories. Votes from winners came from the BID council, previous winners and online polling.
Garcia said the award was another testimony to Mekeni’s continuing adherence to the highest standards of food quality and safety.
Felix Garcia and his wife, Medicia Santos, both public school teachers, began Mekeni in 1986 as a home-based enterprise making chicharon (cracklings) and tocino (sweetened meat).
They processed the meat from the poultry and piggery in Barangay (village) Balubad in Porac town that they helped manage.
The company was devastated by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, prompting Felix to ask his sons to return from well-paying jobs abroad to rebuild the company and help their town rise again.
When Mekeni got back again on its feet 10 years after the disaster, it put up a modern plant using a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Since then, it has aimed to be world-class, earning quality and food safety accreditation as well as the loyalty of its customers.