Where NBA prizes happen

With eight teams alive and eight teams gone in the NBA playoffs, the competition steps up to the next level in the second round as action gets hotter and more furious. 

It’s been an unpredictable postseason so far. Nobody expected Phoenix to go in five after nearly upending San Antonio in their series opener, which the Spurs barely won in double OT. Nobody expected Atlanta, the East’s eighth seed, to take the league’s top finisher Boston to seven games before exiting. Nobody expected Philadelphia to shock Detroit in Game 1 on the road and sting the Pistons with two losses. Nobody expected New Orleans to dispose of Dallas in five. Nobody expected Houston to scare Utah with Yao Ming out of commission. Nobody expected Denver – with Allen Iverson, Melo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby – to be swept in the first round even if the Nuggets’ adversary was the Los Angeles Lakers.

But as the slogan goes, the NBA is where amazing happens. And so far in the playoffs, things have been incredibly amazing.

In keeping with tradition, we are once again launching a contest for you to win NBA prizes, some of which are not available locally. Unlike previous contests, this version gives you three chances to win a variety of collectible NBA merchandise.

We’re splitting our NBA Playoff contest into three legs. 

The first leg has a deadline of May 14. The second leg will be announced in this column on May 20 with an entry deadline of May 28. The third leg will be announced here on June 3 with an entry deadline of June 11. 

We’ve got loads of prizes for each leg.

For the first leg, all you need to do is to answer three questions:

1. Which team has the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs?

2. Who was the NBA’s leading scorer in the regular season?

3. Who is the NBA player known as Agent Zero?

Additionally, write in 50 words or less, who your favorite NBA player is and why.

Send in your entries to “NBA Playoffs Contest – First Leg,” Philippine Star sports section, R. Oca Jr. and Railroad Streets, Port Area, Manila. Don’t forget to write your name, address, age, occupation (if student, what grade or year, course, school) and telephone number.

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We’ll choose 10 winners for the first leg. The first prize winner gets an exclusive NBA Finals messenger bag, an NBA watch, a Spalding basketball, an NBA DVD boxed set, an NBA pouch bag and an Adidas NBA T-shirt.

The second prize winner takes home an NBA Finals messenger bag, an NBA watch, a Spalding basketball and an NBA DVD boxed set. The third prize winner picks up an NBA messenger bag and an NBA DVD boxed set. 

An NBA messenger bag will be given to the fourth up to the 10th prize winners.

You’ll love the NBA merchandise. The messenger bag is in black with yellow piping and has a stitching of the NBA Finals logo and the Larry O’Brien championship trophy. The bag is big enough to hold a laptop. 

The NBA watches come in different team designs. The Lakers watch, for instance, is in yellow and purple. The Houston Rockets watch is in white and red while the Miami Heat watch is in fire-engine red. 

The DVD boxed sets are of the “championship” variety with multi-disc editions of the Boston Celtics, Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers title stories. The pouch bags are also dedicated to specific NBA teams.

The NBA watches are donated by Glamm Holdings, Ltd. and available at SM Malls, Alexus Jewellery and Parklane Jewellers. The NBA DVD boxed sets are sponsored by Warner Home Video and available at Astrovision, Astroplus, Odyssey, Videocity, SM Record Bars, Landmark and Music One. Adidas NBA T-shirts are provided by Adidas and available in all Adidas concept stores nationwide. The NBA pouch bags are supplied by Tuesday Licensing and Entertainment, Inc. and available at SM Malls and other retail stores. The Spalding basketballs are donated by Proline Sports Center, Inc., the country’s exclusive distributor of Spalding, and available in Proline Sports Center stores.

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The NBA messenger bags are from the NBA itself. We’re giving away 40 messenger bags throughout the three-leg contest. They’re not available locally so joining the contest is the only way you’ll get a chance to own this special NBA Finals collector’s item.

So hurry! We’re now accepting entries for the first leg. Deadline is May 14. We’ll announce the 10 winners of the first leg here on May 16 and prizes may be claimed immediately. Get ready for the second leg to be launched on May 20 and finally, the third leg on June 3.