More NBA stuff for you

Fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton and Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard in Manila to grace the biggest NBA (National Basketball Association) Madness ever here on June 2-5.

Walton and Howard won’t be the only special guests in the fifth edition of the interactive basketball lifestyle show in theme park form. Six bombshells from the Houston Rockets Power Dancers are coming, too, to spice up the festivities.

A VIP welcome party is set on Friday, June 3, for the visitors and the NBA is making available passes to lucky STAR readers who’ll get a chance to rub elbows with the players and dancers.

Yesterday, we launched a contest where to win the passes and NBA merchandise, all you had to do was to answer two questions about Walton and send in your entries to The STAR office. Ten lucky winners will be picked to receive welcome party passes, authentic NBA jerseys, NBA Madness T-shirts and NBA Madness posters.

Today, we’re giving you another opportunity to win the same prizes. This time, the questions are about Howard.

The questions are: (1) Who are Howard’s two favorite players? and (2) What is Howard’s NBA career-high in points?

Write your answers on a slip of paper and don’t forget to include your name, address, age, telephone number, occupation and signature then send to "NBA Madness, Dwight Howard" Philippine STAR, Sports Section, 13th corner Roberto Oca Street, Port Area, Manila. Our cut-off for entries to reach the Star office is on Tuesday, May 31.

Ten winners will be picked. The first three winners will each get a prize package consisting of two passes for the welcome party, an NBA Madness T-shirt and an NBA Madness poster. The next two winners will each get an NBA authentic jersey, a T-shirt and a poster. And the last five winners will each receive a poster.

The 6-11, 250-pound Howard, 19, was one of three unanimous All-Rookie Mythical Team selections in the NBA this season. The others were Emeka Okafur and Ben Gordon. As a rookie, he averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds in 82 games for the Magic. Howard shot .520 from the field and .671 from the line. His single-game NBA career highs include 29 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, four steals and seven blocked shots.

Howard was the NBA’s first overall choice in the 2004 draft. He signed a three-year $11.3 Million contract to play for Orlando.

The deeply-religious Howard enjoys a close relationship with his parents. His father Dwight, Sr. is a Georgia State trooper and the athletic director of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. His mother Sheryl used to play for the Morris Brown College varsity.

Since Howard went straight from high school to the pros, his father said he’d like him to take up a basic economics course, read a book a day, and brush up on current events this summer.

According to writer Darren Rovell, Howard is used to talking about his faith. His high school coach Courtney Brooks is a Bible teacher who quotes scripture before every game.

Howard’s favorite song is the gospel hymn "Praise Is What I Do" and when he signs an autograph, he never fails to scribble "God bless" so that, in his words, he can "let people know that everything that they’ve gotten is because of God."

Scott Becher, who heads a sports marketing firm, said, "Dwight’s religious appeal is amplified by the fact that the majority of this country can relate to what he practices but it would be a mistake to use his celebrity as a bullhorn for his personal beliefs."

Each NBA team has a volunteer chaplain who leads non-denominational services before games, continued Rovell.

Former pro Claude Terry, executive vice president of the Pro Basketball Fellowship which oversees the NBA teams’ chaplains, said about 50 percent of the league’s players attend at least one service during the season.

"I would hope that Dwight’s beliefs wouldn’t hurt his chances to market products," said Terry. "I would think that marketers would want to embrace someone with such values."

Howard is proud of his Christian upbringing and said he’s not afraid his marketability will suffer because of his conservative image."I know I haven’t grown up on the streets and I don’t have that bad-guy image like Allen Iverson," said Howard whose favorite players are Michael Jordan and Kevin Garnett. "My message is different and I still feel that I can touch a lot of different people."

Don’t fail to send in your entries. You might get lucky and meet the NBA Madness special guests in person plus take home valuable NBA merchandise not available in Manila stores.