Every winner takes home cash

We’re still awaiting more donations from sponsors for our Christmas Contest, which we’ve run for over 15 years, but it’s safe to announce that each of the 20 winners will take home cash. The first prize winner will receive P50,000 and a cart-load of gift items. The 19 other winners will each be given at least P1,000. We’re hoping to make the cash bigger for the second to fifth prize winners but it will depend on how much more comes in. 

So far, our sponsors have contributed P115,000 in cash for our contest. The breakdown is P50,000 from the Philippine Olympic Committee, P20,000 from Jean Henri Lhuillier, P20,000 from Atty. Tony Cablitas, P20,000 from Cynthia Carrion and P5,000 from GAB chairman Abraham Mitra. Additionally, we’ve received P3,000 worth of Robinsons gift certificates from Mrs. Robina Gokongwei-Pe. 

Here are the other prizes: 7 basketballs, 7 volleyballs and 5 badminton sets from Sonak Corp. president Anil Buxani; 4 boxes of Vita Coco, 5 bags of Vita Coca, coconut cream, coconut cooking oil and coconut milk powder, 10 tote bags and 10 shirts from Rommie Chan; 72 pieces of Blackwater Deo Mist, Blackwater Deo soap, Uncover 12-color eyeshadow, matte lipsticks and pro waterproof eyeliner each from Ever Bilena CEO Dioceldo Sy; 10 PBA shirts, 10 Hardcourt annuals and 5 personal blenders from PBA commissioner Willie Marcial; 10 shirts, 10 basketballs and 20 bags of Alaska Milk products from Alaska PBA governor Dickie Bachmann;  2 cases of San Mig light, 1 case of Ginebra San Miguel Blue light, 1 case of Primera Brandy light, 10 San Miguel Beermen shirts and 10 San Miguel Beermen caps from San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua and San Miguel PBA governor Robert Non; 2 sports bags, 3 golf umbrellas with windbreaker, 2 rechargeable lamps, 3 electric kettles, 2 spill-free mugs, 4 USB power adaptors and 2 magnetic car cellphone holders from Meralco senior vice president Al Panlilio and 5 3x3 Molten basketballs and 5 Molten basketballs from SBP executive director Sonny Barrios.

The deadline to submit entries for our contest is tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 14 with a cut-off of 5 p.m. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 19, in this column and we’ll give away the prizes on Sunday, Dec. 23, at a designated location to be announced.

It’s not too late to join. We’ve been deluged by entries through email ([email protected]), Instagram (@therealdeanquinito) and Twitter (@TheDeanQuinito). Entries have also been sent to The Philippine STAR office.

Every entry must answer the following questions correctly: 

1. Who were the three bowlers recently inducted into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame?

2. Who is FIBA’s global ambassador for the 2019 FIBA World Cup? (Hint: It’s not Yao Ming although the Chinese legend will be the “face” of the competition since the games are scheduled in China).

3. What were the three franchises that Tim Cone piloted to become the PBA’s winningest coach with 21 total championships?

Additionally, each entry must contain a short essay appealing to FIBA to consider Fil-foreigners with authenticated Filipino lineage to play for the Philippine team as locals, not as naturalized citizens regardless of when they were issued their Philippine passports. The essay must be limited to five sentences.

The appeal should be universal, meaning if upheld, the rule must be applicable to every country that has athletes with multiple citizenships and bloodline traceable to the country that is being represented in FIBA. At the moment, FIBA allows a multiple citizen to play for one country of his or her choice only if the passport was issued before turning 16, regardless of heritage. The limitation restricts Fil-foreigners like Christian Standhardinger, Chris Newsome, Jordan Clarkson and Stanley Pringle from playing for the Philippines as locals since they were given their Philippine passports after turning 16. They’re recognized only as naturalized players by FIBA. It’s conclusive, however, that the Fil-foreigners have Filipino blood. Under Philippine law, Fil-foreigners enjoy the rights and privileges of any Filipino citizen, including representing the country in international sports competition. But the FIBA rule disenfranchises the Fil-foreigners and contradicts the stipulation in Philippine law.

When we launched our Christmas contest in this column last Nov. 30, we mentioned that the essay is a challenge to our readers and a soundboard to reach out to FIBA. It’s an appeal for understanding of the Filipino’s unique characteristic as a “global” citizen. Surely, there are other athletes similarly situated all over the world. 

For an entry to qualify, it must note the sender’s name, address, age, occupation or employment (if student, state the course, year, school) and contact details (cellphone number for easy contact). If the entry misses out on any of those details, it will not be considered. You only have up to tomorrow to send in your entries so hurry and do it now!