And so it begins. Yes, you better make sure you still have money from your last pay or you haven’t used your 13th month. It’s going to be a crazy week beginning with the AJ XIII Retro Flints. The shoe will be available this Friday (Nov 26) when Titan opens at noon. First come, first served and only 1 pair per customer.

Here’s one more reason for you to pick the Flints up from Titan. For every pair of the Jordan XIII Retros, you get a free Titan Panther 23 tee to go well with your Js. The Flint Greys retail for 7,495 php. If you’re not feelin’ the Js, there are a couple more kicks you might want to cop.

If you’ve dropped the Haterade, there are the LeBron 8 “Veteran’s Day” colorway. Initially dubbed as the USA colorway, these ‘Bron 8s are now available and retails for 7,995 php. And on the other end of the spectrum, Titan’s got the Wolf Grey Zoom Kobe Vs as well. Possibly the last KBV colorway for the season is now available for 6,995 php. Awesome.

And you know what? This is only the beginning. Make sure your cards are clear and your ATMs empty. It’s going to be a crazy weekend and an even crazier week ahead!

photos courtesy of Titan Barbershop. For more info, check www.titan22.com for more details.

Here’s the official flyer from our friends over at Titan. Extremely limited and exclusive release.

Yes, folks. They’re playing the raffle game. Which is a good thing, for the most part. It’s great because you won’t need to bring your “hatak” to line up for you. It’s a good thing because you won’t see the classic- sando/slippers crowd around such an elegant looking store. It’s a good thing because everyone’s got a shot- just as long as you fill in your ballot (for you), and you’re wearing any Kobe/LeBron item (apparel don’t count, son). To further explain the kink in this raffle, it just goes to show that you really are the fan of either signature player. Now it doesn’t have to be the actual pair that you must rock. If you have any inspired pair (AF1s, Dunks inspired by either of the two), or any from their team lines (Soldiers, Ambassadors, MS, Dream Season, etc.), that’ll work too. Now, if you don’t want to scuff up the soles or any part of your precious pairs, just bring it as proof that you are a fan and you’re the real deal.

Just remember, 1 pair per customer. You can participate for all 3 pairs. More stuff to follow, but right now, this is all that matters. Whatever’s on the flyer is what matters. Three sick pairs. Two All-World Superstars. One great store. See you all on the 4th.

It’s been a long time coming. Upon hearing the concept a few months back, I liked the idea. It was too good to be true. And after a couple of months waiting and wondering, the wait’s almost over. This August, TITAN, the first ever basketball-dedicated retail store in the market will open its doors to the general public. It makes sense to do this, as the store was designed specifically with the Filipino basketball player in mind.  Located in the up and coming Forbeswood Retail area at Burgos Circle (corner of Rizal Drive) in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig – TITAN will house the first and only basketball specialty store in the Philippines as well as a traditional 4-chair men’s barbershop.

“We wanted to create a space that would be perfect for anyone who loves basketball”, says Jeffrey Cariaso, co-founder and one of TITAN’s owners. “We wanted a store that would give basketball consumers the power of choice with the products that he wants. And with the barbershop, it was about having a space where if you’re into basketball and you love the game and the culture that comes with it, you’ll feel right at home.” The store will carry the latest and most innovative performance basketball footwear, apparel and accessories from Nike, adidas, Brand Jordan, And1, Converse, Reebok, K1X and New Era.

TITAN’s barbershop services will primarily focus on haircuts and shaves. TITAN will open on August 4, 2010, with 3 exclusive shoe releases from Nike slated on that day. The Nike Zoom Kobe V “Big Stage” Edition (Home and Away) and the Air Max LeBron VII NFW “MVP” shoe will be available in limited quantities on Opening Day.

More release information will be made available soon. Don’t worry guys. It’ll be real soon. Just a couple more days.

Alright guys, here’s another colorway for LeBron’s sneaker in 2010. This obviously is the CTK or Christ the King colorway. To be honest, I’m lovin’ this. Aside from the black/white/gold and the red carpets, this is one of the better colorways of the LeBron VII. I saw these over at BHS last night. They actually had 15 pairs of the Kobe V Aces (Lower Merion Aces to be exact) but sold out quick! If I’m not mistaken, they came out sometime Wednesdsay. These are still available at Nike BHS as of last night. Hurry up and and cop your pair!

The 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend officially started Friday Manila time with most of the participants flying in from whatever city they’re reppin’. Our very own Philippine contingent finally made it there after 20 or so something hours of travelling. I was supposed to make the trip but had to give up my spot so that others can experience the wonder that is the All-Star Weekend. But  for most of us, aside from the game, we’ll be focused on what they players are wearing. I posted last week Adidas’ offering for All-Star- TS Supernatural Creator and Commander. Last night, I decided to drop by Nike BHS to check out this year’s all-star digs.

The soles you see here are the soles of the fifth (yup, you read that right, FIFTH) Kobe V shoe. That’s 5 pairs all within a span of a week. Word around is that a 6th should be out next week. Which one? I’ll keep mum about it til it’s confirmed from my source. Anyway, these are the Kobe Vs for the All-Star Game. It’s unfortunate that we won’t see them on the Mamba’s feet come All-Star Game. Kobe was scratched off the list at the 11t h hour because of all the injuries Mamba incurred over the first half of the season. Among all the ASG special releases, these are the best. BHS only (and the only one to carry All-Star kicks) has 20 pairs and if I’m not mistaken, are all reserved or have names to their boxes. Better try your luck on the net for these Daring red joints. As much as I’m giving props to the V, I really don’t like the 3M wood finish on the upper. First of all, where have you see red wood like that? But that’s the only thing I’m not feeling on it. Otherwise, the shoe’s pretty delish.

For all the other West bigs and wings, they’ll be sporting the Nike Hyperize (though I’m sure Steve, Dirk, KD will rock special PEs of their kicks). These are actually nice. I just don’t wear high tops when I ball so I’ll pass up on these. It’s a surprise that they didn’t release the East version of the shoe. This carries the same finish as the Kobe V and also has 3M on it. I took some picks (albeit ugly ones) of them flashing their 3Ms.

Ofcourse, the King will not be outdone by the Mamba. Here’s the VII done in the East’s blue colorway. I’m not feelin’ it as much as the Vs, and the blue doesn’t pop out as much as the reds. These are still available. It’s funny that LBJs popularity doesn’t translate to sneaker sales the way Kobe’s kicks do. I think a visit from Bron during the offseason might do the trick though. I’m sure LeBron will love the Philippines. and in return, we will love him back by finally buying his kicks. I personally don’t like most of his kicks. The only signatures I like were the 1s (Zoom Generation).  The VIIs also have the 3M finish but I opted not to post them as I wasn’t happy with the photos I took.

For more on the kicks for All-Star and other new Nike Drops, drop on by NIKE BHS and take a look for yourself. They are pretty swell. I’ll pass on them though. I see some kicks on the horizon I’m feenin’ for. For All-Star action, tune in to Solar TV and BTV for all the main Events. BTV has other All-Star Events that can only be seen there. Log on to www.btv.com.ph for more details on All-Star Weekend.

The Internets were at work yesterday. From an SMS all the way to forum posts, Manila was a flutter when they heard a shipment of Bruce Lee Kobe Vs were on sale at BHS. By the afternoon, word got to the big kahunas to hold off on the sale as the Vs were supposed to launch on the 5th (Feb 6 was also thrown around). Alongside the Bruce Lees, the Away, All-Star (maybe at a later week), and possibly the Chaos should be out on that date. So folks, mark your calendars. I was able to get a hold of the Vs before they were neatly tucked back in to the stock room. Guys, don’t pester our friendly neighborhood SAs to sneak you up a pair. Girls, don’t let your boys convince you to seduce the SAs for a pair. Let’s all wait til the 5th.

In the meantime, check out some shots of the V. Inspiration came from 2 Bruce Lee movies. Lee wore the yellow jumpsuit in Game of Death (thus the yellow/black colorway). The red accents at the heel as well as the 4 scratches by the toe section were taken from  Enter the Dragon.  Google it. You’ll see. 1 more week folks. 1 more week.

Alright. I’m sure everyone’s curious as to what went down when I took my trip to Macau/HK. We really went to Macau with the fam with my sister and I just taking a short half-day trip to HK to get some things done. I was a bit disappointed really… well, that and I didn’t have time to really go around and do the stuff I wanted to.

Macau was a major disappointment. As the place is really more of a touristy place, there weren’t any major sneaker stores aside from the usual Marathon Sports and other similar sneaker stores. I went through stores only once and just saw the usual releases. There might’ve been some special releases but I guess my fault was that I was too focused on copping AMs more than anything. Jordans, AF1s and other Basketball releases were bountiful. NB limited editions were also available, but that’s pretty much it. I was in Macau a couple of years back and there was one serious sneaker store that carried some crazy ish like the Fantastic Four Pack. I tried looking for it but it wasn’t there anymore.

There was a Nike store over at the Venetian (and damn is that place huge!) and once again, it didn’t really bring any surprises. There might’ve been some surprises here and there, but nothing to write home about. Well, there were a couple of things I did see. They had the Air Max Light from the Tecmo Bo Pack. I don’t recall these being released here so I had to take this stolen shot. They were ok, but not enough for me to bring ‘em home. The Max Light uses the KC Royals color blocking with pixels by the blue toe box and a pixelized Bo Jackson playing baseball (which can be found on the old Nintendo game Tecmo Baseball).

Another surprise here were the AM 180 Ultramarines (that also didn’t drop here btw) and the AM1 OGs. Yes, the AM1 OGs came out here but it seemed like they were GRs there! I even saw the OGs over at New Yaohan, the mall across our hotel! What’s great about the Nike store there was that they did have a pretty good selection considering that it’s inside the department store. And for some reason, the stuff they had were on sale! I decided to get the Blue AM1 OG (which hasn’t been re-stocked yet unlike the Red 1s) at 3o% off retail price! They came out to about 520 HKD (which is about 3250, a good 2k less than they sell ‘em over at Hideout!).

I did take the trip to HKG a day before heading back here. It sucked that they also dropped the Space Jams on the 23rd at the Nike Store. Here are some kicks that I saw at the Nike Hong Kong store. Lebron 7 Red Carpets, Kobe Beijing to Finals, Yi Jianlian Skyposites. As you can see with the photo above and below, a lot of QS that never made our shores. Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a fan of the AF1s but there were a lot for you guys to see. There were a couple of Jordan 1s that also didn’t make it here. Seeing all these J1s, now I realize that they did release a whole ton of Jordan 1s last year. From Phat Lows, Hi Straps, Premiers and Quickstrikes, we were abundant in Js last year.

Ocean Terminal Stores were a bit of a disappointment. I breezed by the NSW store, Adidas Originals and Performance stores, Onitsuka Tiger and the rest…and nothing….. or not within my budget. Another surprise occurrence here were the abundance of Brain Wrecks and other SBs. Though they didn’t have the Guccis. I purposedly didn’t pass by Visvim and the other stores nearby as I know I’d only be salivating over the kicks on hand. D-Mop was ok but once again, nothing to write home about. Streetwear stuff was pretty cool and the sale was just too tempting. But time wasn’t on our side and I didn’t get to go back to check them out.

After lunch and Ocean Terminal we scooted on down to Fa Yuen street, the fabled Sneaker Street over at Mongkok. The place was crazy! Even the streets leading to it was already filled with kicks. But sadly, my AM90 Infrared journey was all for naught. No one had, and if they did, they didn’t have my size. Fa Yuen, like this whole sneaker trip, was a bit of a disappointment. But I guess it was a mistake I had a goal in mind. The stores offered pretty much the same thing and nothing really stood out.

I did however drop by the Nike Basketball over at Fa Yuen. The store was really nice and found my surprise pick up there. I’ve been pretty down on my luck up until then. Among all the basketball releases so far for this season, I’ve been riding only on a couple– CP3 IIIs, Kobe Vs, Skyposites (still not there), and the Cradle Lows. It was just unfortunate HK didn’t have the Philippines Asia Pack version, but I was lucky enough to pick up the Chinatown edition (photos to follow real soon!). The colors are pretty funky and I just had to get ‘em! Though I am selling them. So if there are any takers, do drop me a line (10.5 US)  let me know if you’re interested. I’ll PM the details but I’ll post them soon enough.

So there, that was my trip. I know it could’ve been better if I had more time. I also know that if I had a little more time, I would’ve been able to appreciate other releases. I guess the Net is also a curse as it makes you think that you’ve seen some of the sneakers before, especially for some pairs you’ve seen over and over again on all the sneaker sites like mine. So to a certain extent, especially for the Nike releases, it felt like there was nothing really amazing. But I’m definitely sure there was heat behind some pairs there. So ’til the next time, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for the other stuff and not just the elusive Infrareds (word has it that the AM90 Infrareds are gonna come out later this year. so yay me!).

Most of us got our paycheck yesterday. Now here’s my question- how long will that paycheck last with all the sic drops we’re having? From Hideout’s drops to 5-0 and WeLegendary’s SBs, and now the rest of the Nikes for the month? I dropped by the Nike store by Greenbelt 5 and saw these performance pairs  worth your hard earned dineros.

AJ12 “Flu Game”. I was never a fan of the Jordan 12s. Even with the Rising Suns dropping a few weeks back, they never really grew on me. Now, these AJ12s, are dubbed as the Flu Game Jordans. Way back in ’97, MJ made a mistake of eating some bad pizza before game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Jazz. It could’ve been some die hard Jazz fans’ version of Celtic Pride for all we know. MJ wasn’t in any shape to play but he had to what he had to do. Jordan pulled through and had one of the best games ever in Finals History. 38 points. Game winner. Nuff said. This version of the shoe he wore has the 97-sick face-38 on the heel as well as on the tongue. Pretty nice touch.

Cradle Rock Low Steve Nash PE Away. A few posts back we featured the Cradle Rock Low Home PEs for Steve Nash. Here’s the Road/Away version. Not bad right? Now when will the Philippine version drop?

Nike Hyperize Decades Pack “Infrared”. A few months back, right around the same time the White Men Can’t Jump Pack came out that they were going to release the Decades Pack for the Hyperize. This, I believe, is the first of the pack. This is inspired by the AM 90 Infrareds. The others of the pack are the Safaris, AM95 and the Foamposite, all classics of the Nike family. I’m still waiting on my Infrareds (wherever they may be), but for now, this will do.

and the rest. Nice releases but didn’t strike me all that much from the get go. A new colorway for the Trainer 1s, another Kobe IV colorway, a St.Vincent/St.Mary’s colorway for the LBJ Ambassador IIs, Zoom BB3s, and Jordan Phat Lows. These pairs should be available all around the metro and possibly some Nike stores in the province. So yes, choose wisely. and enjoy your cops.

The Kobe love never ends over at Nike. With the huge success of the Kobe IV, Nike’s been churning out colorway after colorway of the kick ass shoe. I honestly don’t own a pair but it’s one of the better pairs Nike has released in years. Getting to meet the guy makes it even more special. This month (though I am 2 weeks delayed on this post. blame it for not having a camera around), they release 2 more (and if you don’t get it this week, chances are you’ve missed the boat…again) colorways- the 4 Rings and Del Sol Splatter. The tongue you see here is from the 4 Rings. The 4 Rings has a gradient from Purple to Gold. Even the laces go gradient too! The Del Sol Splatter is basically the same shoe but with a splattered outsole by the forefoot. The first Del Sol had a white forefoot. Better hurry, Kobe 4s don’t stay on shelves long.

Aside from the Kobes, Nike’s other big gun has his shoe out. LeBron James’ signature shoe, the Air Max LeBron VII has been out a little after the start of the season. I believe this has been LeBron’s lightest shoe to date (outside of the Ambassadors and Soldiers). Pictured here are the 2 out of 3 available. The Midnight Navy (for their alternate road jersey) and the traditional white/black/red (not really the colors of cleveland but what the hell). The third colorway, the Mooncake, is also a special release and from what I recall, there’s only 24 pairs available at the store. This is a gold/white colorway, usually Asia exclusive. There is still some available at the store. I’m a low cut guy, so I’ll wait on the Lows to come out before I rep ‘Bron.

Aside from Nike’s big guns, there are other PEs, Player Exclusives available at Nike BHS. That’s what’s great about Nike Philippines, they bring out the PEs to the Philippines. On a previous post, I posted the Sharkalaid PEs for Deron Williams and Rudy Gay. Not exactly your favorite players but they definitely go to work every time out. The Hyperize, following the success of the Hyperdunk has been out since July but the PEs are out just now. Here you see the PEs for Pau Gasol and Ben Gordon. Aside from the colorways matching their team colors, their PE logos can be found at the tongue. Nice touch, right? Ben Gordon gets love from Nike with two Detroit colorways (home and road CWs) while the Pau just gets his home whites here.

Lastly, we have the third tier superstars. I really don’t think they are but in terms of popularity, they would be considered as such. We have the Blue Chip II for Caron Butler and Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal’s Black/Reds have his PE logo at the back while Caron has his 3D logo there. People may wonder why it’s 3D (which is also Boris Diaw’s nickname)  and not Tough/Tuff Juice for Caron. Caron holds a basketball camp called 3D  (Butler fans, correct me if I’m wrong). The black/royal blue/gold is definitely the Wizards’ colors and the Black/Reds are for the Heat, Jermaine’s 4th team in the L. Ofcourse there are other Nike Basketball shoes at BHS but these are my picks for illest for November.

As I struggle to catch up with all the drops this month, I try to figure out what else is in store for us this holiday ’09? Yes, we’ve seen a lot of sneak peeks online the past few months. A lot of them have surfaced– HideOut has the DOD Pack, the AF1 Savage Beast, Nitro Microphone AF1s, AM1s and Maxims while Nike Parks and Stadiums have had their share of QK and ultra clean releases.

I also passed by Nike over at Greenbelt 5 last week and saw the pairs you see here. The AF25 above is apt, especially with More Than a Game out in theaters. Ofcourse, these follow Bron’s High School colors- Green, Gold, White. I was never a fan of this pair, but the iced outsole gives the shoe extra cred. Another ‘Bron release is the LBJ Zoom Ambassador II. There’s another colorway (majority white) that plays with the same colors. They’re alright, as they aren’t as clunky as the Six or LeBron’s other pairs (well, except for the LBJ7).

Most of the fresh kicks are really for performance. Another pair worth mentioning are the Trainer 1s. This is actually the fourth colorway released here (Lights Out, Volt/Silver. Grey/White/Red and this). If you’re digging on Jigga’s Empire State of Mind, this definitely resembles NYC to the fullest… well, not so much the Yankees, but the Knicks and Mets represent!

Kobe cannot be outdone so they released 2 more pairs of the Dream Season X. The image below is the white/grey/purple with the black/yellow also available at my gallery. This definitely echoes the color of the Lake show, and one of the current Kobe IVs. They’re good as gold, especially if you like your high tops high. I’d rather go for the IVs though.

Last but certainly not the least are the NSW drops. With the speckle look invading NSW, here’s a Dunk that comes correct. Wouldn’t it be cooler if the speckle resembled blood blotches? Aside from the speckle, the pair’s pretty tame. I’d change the laces to white for an opposite pattern to come out or black to get with the low key look goin. The AF1 low here is pretty fresh. As we all know that purple/violet is the now color, this doesn’t disappoint. It’s just an awesome silhouette.

Well, more drops on the way. Just give me some time to load everything and get my act together. I wasn’t able to take a pic, but lil’ fans of LeBron and Kobe have their respective AF1 colorways. Also, kids get the jumpoff with the LBJ7. Their version dropped a few days before the real thing.

for other views of the shoes above, you can check out the gallery section of this site under the Nike album.