Scruff-proof balls up for grabs

Five brand-new Molten fully scruff-proof synthetic leather 12-panel basketballs will be given away as prizes in our Christmas contest for STAR sports readers.

“It’s just a few days out in the market,” said Sonia Trading’s Anil Buxani. “Molten manufactured this ball with the PBA in mind and that’s why it carries the PBA logo. But the ball has also been introduced all over the world. This is a ball that can be played on cement but won’t get dirty because of its polyurethane layer. You always get a good feel of the ball without the grime or dirt.” Buxani said Molten keeps a keen eye on the Philippine market because it’s the second largest for the FIBA-sanctioned balls in the world.

With its revolutionary make-up, the new ball is selling like hotcakes, said Buxani. It costs about P1,000 each and is available only at Toby’s and Chris Sports.

PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad is also contributing a special edition Spalding pure leather game basketball as part of the loot for the first prizewinner. The ball is not available in stores and a certified collector’s item.

More and more prizes are coming in to add to the haul. Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines president Chito Narvasa, for instance, is giving away 10 muscle tape gift packs worth P600 each. ALA boxing stable owner Tony Aldeguer is donating high-quality shirts and miniature glove key rings.

Other prizes include four P2,500 SM gift certificates from businessman Hermie Esguerra, 10 P500 SM gift certificates from Philippine Taekwondo Association president Robert Aventajado, two P1,000 gift certificates for Triple V-Kamayan=Dad’s-Saisaki from Buensalido and Associates, 12 watches from former PBL chairman Dioceldo Sy, ESPN caps and shirts from Tammy David of Pro Solutions, No Fear caps, shirts and calendars from Tommy Ong and gift packs from San Miguel Corp., Alaska, Air21, Harbour Centre, Philippine Sports Commission, Chris Sports, Games and Amusements Board and many, many more.

To join, simply write down the correct answers to these three questions:

1. Whom did Manny Pacquiao dethrone to win his first world championship (WBC flyweight) in Thailand in 1998?

2. Who was Asia’s first-ever world boxing champion (he was a Filipino)?

3. Who are the four reigning Filipino world boxing champions?

Put your answers on a slip of paper. Don’t forget to write your name, address, age, occupation (if student, what course, year, school) and telephone number. Also, in one sentence, write why you read The Philippine STAR from cover to cover. Include a masthead of The Philippine STAR (no Xerox copies, please) taken from any issue from Dec. 16 to Dec. 19 this year. One entry, one masthead. You may send in as many entries as you wish. All entries must be addressed to “The Christmas Contest” The Philippine STAR Sports, R. Oca, Jr. and Railroad Streets, Port Area, Manila.

Deadline is 4 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 19. We will name our 25 winners in this column on Sunday, Dec. 21. Prizes will be awarded to our winners on Tuesday, Dec. 23, starting 10 a.m.

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There’s a new sports lifestyle footwear and apparel store that’s making waves on the ground floor of Greenbelt 5 in Makati. Onitsuka Tiger (OT) had its soft opening last Nov. 4, was formally launched two weeks later in grand style and is ringing up sales way beyond projections.

It’s Sonia Trading’s first venture into retailing and patriarch Kay Sham couldn’t be happier. Sonia Trading has been a leader in the distribution of sports merchandise all over the country for more than 40 years. Sham started the business and now, his son Anil Buxani runs the show.

“The market response has been unbelievable,” said Buxani. “Onitsuka Tiger is a lifestyle brand that was popularized by Bruce Lee and the ‘Kill Bill’ movies. It’s a brand that caters to different generations and that’s why the market is wide open. Before we opened our store, we launched an OT website to test the market pulse and were deluged by blogs even if we still had not confirmed a location.”

Buxani said it was about time that Sonia got into retail. “We’ve always been distributors but now, we felt it was time to reach out to the consumers,” he explained. “We’re doing it ourselves with a stand-alone OT store. After only a month, we couldn’t believe our sales. We’re 200 percent over budget.”