When beauty pageant is a sport

Four beauty queens visited the ANTA store on the second floor of Gateway 2 Mall the other day for a photo shoot and a private shopping experience in conjunction with the sports brand’s involvement as the official activewear provider of the Binibining Pilipinas pageant.

ANTA Philippines marketing head Mikko Abello and assistant Josh Villarba welcomed Binibining Pilipinas International 2026 Gwen Soriano, Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2026 Sasha Lacuna, Binibining Pilipinas 2026 first runner-up Raine Antonio and Binibining Pilipinas 2026 second runner-up Tracy Sunio with Pia Ojeda Banal, marketing director of Uniprom, owner of Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. Pia’s husband, by the way, is basketball player Gab Banal.

Gwen, 27, will represent the country at the Miss International pageant in Tokyo next year while Sasha, 22, will compete in the Miss Globe contest in Phuket on Nov. 7. Raine, 24 and Tracy, 26 will fill in if necessary as next in line.

It’s the first-ever ANTA involvement in a beauty pageant anywhere in the world and the Philippines is showing the way. Abello said the collaboration is a perfect fit as ANTA features a wide line of women’s apparel and footwear. He hinted that ANTA will spring a surprise soon to make the women’s line even more exciting. “In a sense, a beauty pageant is a sport because it’s about discipline, staying fit and competition,” he said. “The beauty queens are all into sports so the connection is seamless.”

Gwen plays badminton, tones up in the gym and has tried pickleball. She’s from Baguio which is a training hub for national athletes. Sasha comes from Tarlac and is Olympic swimmer Jessie Lacuna’s cousin. She remembers watching Jessie swim during the 2019 SEA Games at the New Clark City Aquatics Center in Capas. Raine’s father Will played in the PBA for San Miguel Beer, Pop Cola, Coca-Cola, Powerade and GlobalPort from 1998 to 2013. Antonio, now 51, was on two PBA champion teams and the PBA’s three-point shootout king in 2006. Raine, who studies at Enderun, watched her father’s games religiously. She remains a big basketball fan and was at the MOA Arena to witness the NCAA Season 102 opener last Sunday. Tracy played basketball at Riverside College, Bacolod and is a certified ANTA fan.

ANTA Philippines is actively supporting sports on a broad scale and in college basketball, it’s outfitting San Beda, Adamson, St. Benilde, Mapua and Lyceum. In the PBA, ANTA is on deck with Rain or Shine and TNT. ANTA has also collaborated with Cignal TV as official partner and gear provider, making commentators and courtside reporters look good. Among the ANTA endorsers in the PBA are Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Poy Erram, Anton Asistio, Keith Datu, Justin Chua, Peter Alfaro, Yukien Andrada, Shawn Umali, Bryan Sajonia, Raffy Verano and James Laput. ANTA, now the world’s third largest sports brand, is surely stamping its imprint as a major player in the industry.