More prizes offered for Christmas contest

You’ve got only until 5 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, to submit entries to our yearly Christmas Contest. So far, we’ve received thousands of entries via email ([email protected]), Twitter (@TheDeanQuinito), Instagram (@therealdeanquinito), Facebook (@Joaquin Henson) and hard copy delivery at The Philippine STAR office. It’s the biggest response ever in nearly 20 years since we introduced the contest as a way of giving thanks to our readers. 

The door’s still open for more entries so keep them coming. Who knows? This might be your lucky Christmas. Prizes continue to pour in so don’t miss out. Cash donations now amount to P50,000 broken down into P20,000 from Kia, P15,000 from the Herma Group CEO Hermie Esguerra (whose horse Dewey Boulevard won the P4 Million top prize at the Presidential Gold Cup at the Metro Turf in Malvar, Batangas, last Sunday), P10,000 from GlobalPort and P5,000 from GAB chairman Baham Mitra. If we’re able to raise at least P100,000, we’ll give away P50,000 as part of the first prize loot.

Over the last few days, donations came in from the ALA Boxing Gym in Cebu (27 T-shirts, a 14-ounce pair of leather boxing gloves, headgear, a pair of training gloves, two jackets, five bottles of Akiyah radiance renewal lotion and five boxes of Akiyah radiance renewal skincare routine), Planet Sports (three Jordan backpacks, two caps), The Philippine STAR (20 T-shirts), Sonak Corp. (21 Molten basketballs), Nike Philippines (five pairs of shoes, 20 assorted garments and 10 sets of three-pack socks). 

Earlier donations were from Green Bulb Public Relations (four Adidas bags), SBP (10 Molten GR7 basketballs), San Miguel Corp. (20 packs of groceries), Larc and Asset (10 cloud fans, 10 pillows, 10 notebooks, 14 Sprite caps, 5 championship shirts), San Miguel Beer (10 shirts, 10 caps, two cases of beer), Barangay Ginebra (10 caps, 10 shirts, 12 bottles of Primera Light brandy), Chooks To Go (25 Gilas shirts, 25 Gilas basketballs, 30 gift certificates), PBA (3 Espresso bluetooth speakers, 3 Deli Chef personal blenders, 12 shirts, 5 PBA Annual 2014, 5 PBA Annual 2015), Alaska (10 shirts, 10 basketballs), PLDT (3 backpacks), Metro Pacific (1 bottle of wine, 3 gift boxes, 3 carry-on bags), Meralco (2 portable cookers, 2 water boilers) and Ever Bilena (24 Calicident white toothpaste, 12 shirts, 24 Blackwater soap for men, 12 Advance Uncover eyeshadow sets, 12 Blackwater deodorant spray, 12 Blackwater deodorant spray for women, 24 Blackwater whitening soap for women).

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It’s easy to join. Just answer these three questions correctly: 1. Who was the last fighter Manny Pacquiao beat inside the distance? (It happened in Las Vegas in 2009). 2. What year did the Philippines first host the FIBA World Cup, then known as the World Championships? 3. Who are the PBA’s three four-time MVPs in history? 

Then, in no more than three sentences, write an essay expressing your thoughts on what ails Philippine sports and what should be done to improve it. The essay must be straight to the point, logical, sensible, positive and written in correct grammar, English or Pilipino. 

Don’t forget to mention your name, age, occupation (if student, what school, year and course), home address and contact details (cellphone number and/or email address) on each entry. An entry that misses out on any of the required information details will be disqualified. We will announce the 20 winners in this column on Tuesday, Dec. 19 and award the prizes at The Philippine Star office on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 11 a.m.