Young ballers set court ablaze at the Taiwan Excellence 3x3 Hoop Challenge 2019

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Athletic prowess and technological innovation were on full display once again as close to 800 young athletes competed for court supremacy at the Taiwan Excellence 3x3 Hoop Challenge 2019. 

Taiwan Excellence, an award-giving body that recognizes only the best Taiwanese brands and products, mounted thetournament anew to find the best up and coming Filipino talents. 

“We want this to be an avenue to inspire young Filipinos to always strive to reach their very best, in the same way Taiwan Excellence pushes its brands to always innovate and upgrade,” said Chun Tse Wu, director of the Strategic Marketing Department of Taiwan External Trade Development Council. 

Expanded into two age-based divisions – 16 - 18-year-old and 19-year-old and up – this year’s tournament boasted a whopping total of 192 teams amounting to 768 players altogether. 

After the rigorous qualifying rounds completed a week ago, the action reached its climax at the finals round featuring the top 8 players per division battling it out against each other at the SM Megamall Event Center last June 29 – 30. 

To provide some much-needed inspiration, the brother duo of UP Fighting Maroons’ Kobe and Imus Bandera’s Andre Parasalso took part in the action.

Taiwan Excellence Experience Zone

Apart from the fiery competition, the event also showcased an array of award-winning products from proudly Taiwanese brands. 

“The products from Taiwan Excellence are made to comply with our strictest standards, making sure they elevate the quality of life of every consumer worldwide,” said Wu.

Wu added that all Taiwan Excellence awardees must satisfy stringent criteria in terms of design, quality, marketing, R&D, and lastly, it should be made in Taiwan. With such high standards, the symbol of Taiwan Excellence is now recognized in 102 countries.

A total of 11 brands exhibited some of their best products. Spread across the Taiwan Excellence Experience Zone, Filipinos were able to get up close and personal with the brands and products. 

For the tech-savvy Filipinos, ZYXEL showcased the Multy U which provides seamless home WiFi connection. INWIN also displayed powerful gaming gadgets that prove why they are at the top of their game.

Sports brands also did not disappoint. BEKER showed off its water-proof music player for swimmers. JOHNSON FITNESS offered several fitness machines that adapt to everyone’s lifestyle. Meanwhile, sportswear manufacturer U.CR+ displayed their intelligent and adaptive clothing technology.

Sprucing up homes everywhere, Taiwan Excellence also has a host of products that make the everyday truly excellent. FECA has a line of reliable suction cup solutions for homes. DEPARTURE has their sturdy travel bags for the family.TOKUYA displayed exquisite massage machines for that perfect rest and relaxation session. And lastly, ANNIE’S WAY offered everyone a perfect pampering with their selection of effective skincare products.

As for those always on-the-go, KYMCO and their tough motorcycles were on display as well as urban-ready foldable bicycles of TERN. In fact, the Paras brothers found these smart mobility products great additions to their active everyday life. 

“Moving around the busy Metro is now more rewarding with the bikes from Tern,” said Kobe. Meanwhile, eyeing the motorcycles, Andre praised the brand saying that “even at first glance, you know you have a dependable companion with Kymco.”

From health and lifestyle to electronics, the top-notch products of Taiwan Excellence prove they can help one improve the many facets of everyday life.

To catch more of Taiwan Excellence, they have several events lined up that will surely excite more Filipinos. For e-gamers, the Taiwan Excellence E-sports Cup will be held in Manila onOctober 4-6. They will also join the Internet-of-Things Business Platform at Marriott Manila taking place July 24-25, as well as the Taiwan Expo in Davao happening this November 8-9.

Join #MaxsGetTogether to unlock exciting promos from Max's Restaurant

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In 

In Celebration of National Fried Chicken Weekend, here’s a special surprise to all the fried chicken lovers out there! 

Max’s Restaurant is calling all Filipinos nationwide to come together and unite to ignite a celebration like no other!

Started last June 29, Max’s has been encouraging everyone to get together and make noise on social media to activate exciting promos in Celebration of National Fried Chicken Weekend! 

All Filipinos nationwide can enjoy Chicken All-You-Can on July 5, where everyone will be able to savor an unlimited dose of the iconic-tasting, Sarap-To-The-Bones® Fried Chicken with Soup of the Day, Soft Drinks, and Rice for only PHP399. 

The festivities don’t stop there because on July 6 to 7, just buy 1 Regular Whole Fried Chicken for PHP 435 and your second one is 50% off. 

To unlock these promos, simply share why you love Max’s Restaurant on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and use the hashtag #MaxsGetTogether.

Updates and progress to unlock National Fried Chicken Weekend will be announced on Max’s Restaurant’s official Facebook page. This exciting move is Max’s way to get Filipinos together and show what awaits people who unite for a common goal.

“We Filipinos are known for our fervor to unite when situations call for it,” observes Max’s Restaurant Chief Operating Officer Paolo Serrano. “Through coming together and celebrating National Fried Chicken Weekend, we are bringing out the best in Filipino and showing how our Sarap-To-The-Bones® Fried Chicken is best enjoyed when it becomes the centerpiece of all get-togethers.”

The race to unlock National Fried Chicken Weekend is now ongoing, so be sure to be part of this unique, mouthwatering, and definitely filling celebration with friends and families at your nearest Max’s Restaurant!

While enjoying your unlimited Max’s Fried Chicken, be sure to pair it with the new Max’s Chicken Lomi starts available on July 1. 

With the rainy season finally here, this latest offering from Max’s Restaurant puts to fore one of the country’s culinary specialties with a twist, all for an affordable price of PHP160. This classic reinvented, comforting bowl of hot soup unlocks a flavorful take on the traditional lomi with no less than what Max’s has been known for—chicken.

Max’s own take of the traditional lomi will rekindle your love affair with this culinary treasure. The new Chicken Lomi brings together the sumptuous combination of chicken meat, chicken liver, and chicken balls all submerged in a thick broth that will give you the umami you are looking for. A variety of vegetables are also included, and as a treat, this thick egg noodle dish is topped with crispy chicken skin. The Chicken Lomi has the makings of another bestseller just like Max’s Fried Chicken, when you are craving for filling and comforting food to end a long day.

“We want to keep championing Filipinos locally and internationally,” adds Serrano. “And by introducing our own take of the well-lovedlomi together with our Max’s Fried Chicken, we are bringing together all Filipinos from different walks of life and paying tribute to our rich heritage and cuisine.”

So, unite to unlock National Fried Chicken Weekend and taste the new Chicken Lomi. Savor an exciting and heartwarming dining experience with Every Kind of Family, Every Day to the Max!

For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/maxsrestaurant.

John Lloyd Cruz reunites with Kapamilya stars Bea Alonzo, Piolo Pascual

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The Zenarosa Food Corp., (ZFC) the company behind the leading shawarma brand in the country – Turks, yesterday formally welcomed its newest endorsers John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, joining its first brand ambassador, Piolo Pascual through a contract signing ceremony held in a hotel in Quezon City.

Turks over a couple of months ago released a video of Cruz, which became viral in the social media. It’s the first endorsement appearance of John Lloyd after a long a hiatus from the show business. 

Turks once again created a buzz over Cruz appearance and now with his long time leading lady, Bea Alonzo. During an interview, Cruz expressed his gratitude to Turks, saying, “Thank you sa leading man ng Turks, Mr. Gem Zenarosa dahil pinatulan mo ang mga naglalarong ideas sa utak ko.”

As for Bea Alonzo who is a pescatarian went back to eating meat. “Dahil sa Turks bumalik ako sa pagkain ng meat.”

And for Pascual who’s become synonymous to the brand said he is thankful for being a part of ZFC as the company is leading small and medium entrepreneurs to greener pasture.

With these three top celebrities in the Philippine Cinema, Turks continues to make its consumers and franchisees happy by bringing together Cruz, Alonzo and Pascual. 

Mr. Gem Zenrosa, the president of ZFC trusts and believes that altogether, they embody the traits of the markets hewants to reach – risk takers yet meticulous, continuously evolving, creative, wants the best in everything.

To know more about the recent event, check the photos and videos at www.turks.ph and like and follow its social media pages: IG/FB: Turks.official. Subscribe to its Youtube channel 

Get to know: TINGHUN, The Filipino - Chinese Engagement

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Before tying the knot, Filipino couples practice “pamamanhikan”, where the groom formally asks the hand of the woman for marriage, to bring both the man and the woman’s families closer. Interestingly, a great number of Filipino - Chinese immigrants staying in the country also have a similar engagement tradition called Tinghun.

Tinghun Rituals

Tinghuns are commonly known for the unique and traditional rituals presented during the ceremony. One of the first rituals practiced is the walking of the bride backwards when entering the place where the event is held. This is to prevent the bride from seeing the groom immediately and to avoid negative energy.

The backward walk is followed by another ritual, where a married woman with a wealthy and healthy family, whom the bride should see as a role model, turns the bride three times until she is allowed to meet the groom.

After the entrance, the ceremonial serving of the drink happens. The drink, which symbolizes happiness and good luck, is served from the eldest to the youngest members of the family, while the soon-to-be married couple is served last. Sweet tea soup, which signifies harmony, is also served to the entourage.

Symbolic Exchange of Gifts

Aside from the rituals, Tinghuns are also renowned for their extravagant exchange of gifts from the groom and the bride’s respective families. It is common to exchange jewelries and expensive watches between families, but there is no exact list of items, as they depend on the financial capabilities of the wife or the groom, what is important is that the gifts come in pairs.

More than jewels that signify financial capacity, noodles (misua), eggs, rounded fruits, cakes, and sweets are also exchanged. Noodles in the Chinese culture have always signified longevity. The eggs, on the other hand, symbolize fertility in the hopes of building a family in the future. Fruits symbolize wealth, while the cake and sweets signify a sweet start for the couple.

The gifts are wrapped in containers with “喜喜” stickers on top. This is called the Sanghee, which expresses double happiness.

Planning a Tinghun

Presently, Tinghun is not as frequently observed in China anymore. However, traditional Filipino - Chinese families still practice the ceremony. Tinghuns are usually held at the house of the bride as it is the groom’s time to formally ask for the woman’s hand for marriage. Presently, the ceremony can now be held at hotels and restaurants for easier set-up and preparation.

Fortunately, Century Park Hotel, one of the leading hotels in Manila, offers engagement packages which can make planning your Tinghun easier which start at Php. 370,000. The package already includes two pairs of engagement cakes, cha mi sua, special tea, sweet boiled eggs and many more items in the Tinghun checklist.

To know more about the package and Century Park Hotel’s Chinese Lauriat menu, please call (+632) 528 - 8888 or 0917-528-5888, or email information@centurypark.com.ph.

Booking a venue is one thing, preparing the event is another. In fact, there are even professional bridal consultants who can help in arranging the ceremony.

Tinghun is just one of the many of the many rituals done to preserve and celebrate the Filipino - Chinese culture and identity, but there are also other traditions woven into the daily lives of the Filipino-Chinese which are also worth discovering.

PayMaya empowers online sellers, micro-merchants with free and convenient ways to accept payments

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Micro-enterprises and online sellers all across the country now have the capability to accept digital payments anytime, anywhere as leading digital financial services firm PayMaya empowers them with cashless acceptance tools to help them better manage their growing businesses. 

Through PayMaya’s QR payments tool and Send Money feature, it’s easier than ever for upstart businesses to accept payments from PayMaya users nationwide–and merchants and their customers don’t have to shoulder or pay transaction fees to be able to settle their purchases because all of these are free with PayMaya. 

“Whether you’re shopping clothes from your favorite Instagram seller online or buying items from the small sari-sari store on your street, it’s now easier than ever to pay for your purchases with PayMaya, because it’s a lot more convenient, more secure, and you don’t have to travel far to deposit your payment or incur huge transaction fees just to pay for your items–all you need is your mobile phone,” said Kenneth Palacios, Director and Head of Wallets Business at PayMaya. 

Empowering micro-merchants across the country 

Palacios said micro-enterprises play a huge role in helping meet the goals of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to transform at least 20% of total transactions to digital by the year 2020, considering how many micro-enterprises there are currently operating in the Philippines. 

To date, PayMaya has now established several “cashless communities” all around the country–particularly in Baguio, La Union, Boracay, Cebu, and General Santos, among others–to equip merchants with QR payment technology and allow the digital wallet users in these areas to pay using only their mobile phones. 

Just recently, PayMaya partnered with Bloggers United to bring the first-ever cashless bloggers bazaar this June. Participating bloggers were equipped with their own PayMaya QR code and provided cashless convenience to the event attendees who shopped in their stall. 

Bloggers United, in partnership with PayMaya, brings the first-ever cashless bloggers bazaar

“We’re grateful to have PayMaya as one of the co-presenters of our event! More than the perks of cashless shopping, our bloggers can utilize PayMaya QR in future bazaars or online selling,” said Aisa Ipac, Marketing Head at Bloggers United. 

Bloggers United is a semi-annual bazaar that brings together top bloggers who sell their new and pre-loved items and hold a meet-and-greet as well. This event also allows bloggers to promote their own brand, shop and products. 

With the help of PayMaya, a more convenient payment option is now made available to the supporters of these micro-sellers when they sell their products anytime, anywhere. 

To create a PayMaya account and transact with your favorite sellers and merchants, just download the app on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store and sign up using any Philippine mobile number. To be able to do a send money transaction, make sure you upgrade your account from within the app.

To know more about PayMaya’s products, services and promotions, visit PayMaya.com/deals or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Get support and upgrade your PayMaya account at @PayMayaCares on Facebook.