Cash, phone for top prize winner

Due to insistent public demand, we’re extending the deadline for you to submit entries to our Christmas contest up to 5 this afternoon. This is the final deadline. No more extensions.

We’ll pick out 25 winners, each to receive a bundle of prizes. Winners will be announced in tomorrow’s column. Prizes may be claimed in The STAR office at 11 a.m. on Friday.

More and more prizes are pouring in. A partial list of prizes was published in last Sunday’s column.

Harbour Centre team owner Mikee Romero sent P15,000 cash for the first prize winner.

Talk ‘N’ Text team manager Frankie Lim gave four Motorola cellphones with Smart SIM cards.

Alaska team manager and representative to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Board of Governors Joaqui Trillo donated 25 Alaska Aces T-shirts, 25 Alaska E-Cow stuffed toys and 50 Alaska tumblers. Philippine Basketball League (PBL) commissioner Chino Trinidad contributed 10 PBL caps, two Spalding "slam dunk" basketballs and 10 space cups.

Adidas’ Goody Custodio and Odette Velarde sent 25 black Adidas umbrellas.

Dioceldo Sy of DSS Trading donated 24 bottles of Careline body lotion and 25 bottles of Careline body spray.

The Philippine STAR has gift bags containing a spiral notebook, a body bag, a T-shirt and a coffee mug for each of the 25 winners.

Philippine Football Federation president Johnny Romualdez gave three FIFA goal balls, three pairs of Nike shin guards and three Bayern Munich Adidas bags.

Matchmaker and Sarreal Boxing Gym (Banawe) owner Jun Sarreal gave a bottle of Chilean white wine and two boxes of Magnolia queso de bola.

IdeazPlus’ Bob Zozobrado donated a gym bag, a pen set and a demitasse set from the Macau government and a backpack and a T-shirt from Thai Airways.

PBA commissioner Noli Eala sent stools (resembling basketballs), season yearbooks and basketballs.

No Fear’s Tommy Ong, Planet Sports’ Anton Gonzalez and many, many more confirmed they will send in prizes today.

Donors whose contributions were acknowledged in last Sunday’s column were Burlington socks (Norman Black), Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Go Teng Kok), Emerald Headway (Cristina Aspiras), ALA Boxing Gym (Tony Aldeguer), ProSolutions (Dux Carvajal), the Herma Group (Hermie Esguerra), Games and Amusements Board (Eric Buhain), Buensalido and Associates (Joy Buensalido), Airfreight 2100 (Lito Alvarez), Nike (Tony Atayde and Mae Dichupa), San Miguel Corp. (Robert Non), Sonia Trading (Anil Buxani), Red Bull (Tony Chua), Philippine Sports Commission (William Ramirez), ProStar Sports (Jay Gervasio) and Larc and Asset (Tessa Jazmines).

It’s easy to join the contest. Just answer these questions: 1. Who was the leading local scorer in the PBA last season? 2. Who won a gold medal in individual show jumping for the Philippines at the 2002 Busan Asian Games? 3. Who is the undefeated Venezuelan likely to be Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent in Macau in March or April?

You may send in as many entries as you wish but there will be no multiple winners.

Don’t forget to write your name, address, age, occupation (if student, what grade or course and school) and signature. Send your entries, with an original clipping of a Philippine STAR masthead on the front page (showing date of publication), to"Christmas 2006" The Philippine STAR sports section, R. Oca Jr. and Railroad Streets, Port Area, Metro Manila.

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Juan Manuel Marquez, who survived three trips to the canvas in the first round to salvage a draw with Manny Pacquiao two years ago, is itching for a return match with Pacman.

Marquez, 33, is coming off a ninth round stoppage of Filipino slugger Jimrex Jaca in Hidalgo, Texas. His record is 46-3-1 with 35 KOs. His other Filipino knockout victims were Baby Lorona, Jr. and Reynante Jamili.

"I have a thorn on my side and he has a thorn on his side," said Marquez, referring to Pacquiao. "The most logical thing to do is to fight him. We will talk to Oscar de la Hoya and we will study the possibility of a fight between him and me. There is also a potential great fight for me against Marco Antonio Barrera."

If Pacquiao and Barrera don’t face off in a proposed HBO Las Vegas show on March 11, Marquez could take the Filipino’s place and battle the Baby-Faced Assassin instead.