P.5-M worth of fake basketballs seized

POLICE recently seized over 200 pieces of counterfeit basketballs amounting to close to P500,000 from three sports boutiques last month, sports equipment provider Molten Corporation said Thursday.

The stores, Mix Sports, Jianwang and Plus Sports in Divisoria, Manila, were found engaged in marketing and selling imitations of Molten basketball models GL7 and GG7 at the retail prices of the original models.

“Though similar at first, the skin of a fake ball peels off easily and the markings and black channel lines are different. Discoloration and change of texture is often observed in a fake ball even without heavy usage,” Molten representative Raul Allado said.

He added that an authentic Molten ball comes with a two-year factory warranty and is sold inflated to avoid deformity.

These Molten balls are used in the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA), International Basketball Federation (Fiba) and in the upcoming London Olympics.

Following the operation made by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the confiscated balls were turned over to the Intellectual Property Office for custody pending their presentation as evidence in connection with the cases filed against the owners of said commercial establishments. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)