Talk about EPIC, which is what the Nike and the NBA Playoffs is all about. We’ve seen it- buzzer beaters (Jamal), game winners (Ray Ray, BRoy, Sixers), and sheer dominance (CP3, Wade, Rondo). I got this earlier today. Nike wanted to send a message that was epic. They weren’t kidding. At first I thought it was a picture framed poster, but I was wrong. From the usb (posted on twitter), to the EPIC posters, and all the way to the campaign book with packaging, Nike definitely got the message across. Nike + POSTSEASON= EPIC. Check out some of the pages from the book.

They’ll love you in OKC if you’re rockin’ this. I dropped by the adidas store over at Trinoma yesterday and was surprised to see a couple of new NBA replicas available to add their current lineup. They now carry Durant’s Home whites, Brandon Roy’s Away jersey, and a now-defunct DWill Utah Home jersey (who knew they were going to trade him?). Oh, they also have a Tim Duncan Away jersey. But who’d want those right (sorry, Spurs fans. I’m not one of you)? You can easily compare the quality of the jerseys now to the ones released last year and these are much better. The NBA replica jerseys retail for 2,295 php.   If you’re not one to rep your city with a jersey, they also carry some HWC player tees. Whether you’re a Heat (LeBron, Wade), Celtics (KG), or Hornets (CP3) fan, they have it in stock and for 1,195 php each. adidas has a couple other NBA gear for the ultimate NBA fan available- tees, caps, shooting shirts, and a whole lotta others (mostly for the Bulls, C’s and Lakers) in store. Drop by any of the key adidas doors for the newest NBA digs.

you can catch exciting NBA action on the following channels on TV: daily on Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV (contact your local cable provider for availability); Saturdays-Mondays on Studio23.

I forgot to post this after the Christmas Day game. I was watching the games over at NBA Premium TV (if you still haven’t subscribed, you are missing out) and they featured the Stoplight Pack during the coverage. Although the KDIIIs are sold out, you still might find the Grinch Kobe VIs and the LeBron 8 V2s at select Nike stores nationwide.

With regards to NBA Premium TV, it’s one of the best things that came out in 2010. No local commercials, HD (or SD) viewing of NBA games, US commercials, and wall-to-wall (and John Wall) NBA coverage all day. For game schedules, you can log on to the NBA Premium fan page or on the microsite, www.btv.com.ph/nbapremiumtv. For more info on NBA Premium TV, leave a message here on the comments page or email me at martin@solemovement.com.

photo courtesy of tj manotoc

Just reminding everyone that the Stoplight/Christmas Day Pack dropping today, December 26 at Select Nike Stores (most likely the same stores that carried the CGs). The Zoom KDIII is a BHS exclusive, but the “Green Means Go” or “Grinch” Kobe VIs and “Run on Red” Lebron 8 V2 is available at the other key stores. Alright, before you ask me, those stores would be Titan (opens at 10am), Nike Park, Nike Stadium.

If you don’t want to miss the tail end of the DEN-OKC game, cop yours at Titan as they open at 10am and the game finishes around 1130am. Happy Copping everyone! Hoping to see everyone there later!

The season is exactly a month away and what better way to start the season than with some new Tees and a LeBron 8 Hoodie. I actually can’t wait for the season to start. I disapprove LeBron’s move to Miami but people hating on it is getting old. We seriously need to move on and let the dude’s game do the talking. The Hoodie’s just a taste of what’s to come especially with the actual shoe release about a month away as well.

Aside from the Witness Tee (above), there’s also a long-sleeved graphic tee (below). It’s just funny that it says Loyalty Never Dies. I guess he was talking about something else. I don’t expect this tee to sell big in Cleveland but it’s definitely a fresh design. Pick up the new items over at Titan.

Anyways, for loyal LeBron fans, here’s the Soldier 4. I guess they were expecting Bron to wear ‘em in June. Too bad. But it’s a decent pair. Also available these days are the Jordan CP3 Tribute in the True Blue cw. I actually like it better than the Soldiers. But hey, a low top trumps everything for me. These pairs have been available since last week. That’s why they’re on my updates section on the right.

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!).

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.