team pilipinas ’09

A few weeks back, the new Team Pilipinas roster was announced. Composed of Kelly Williams, James Yap, Jay-jay Helterbrand, Ryan Reyes, Gabe Norwood, Willie Miller, Arwind Santos, Jared Dillinger, Kerby Raymundo, Cyrus Baguio, Ranidel de Ocampo, Sonny Thoss, Asi Taulava, and Mick Pennisi, the new team can definitely give its asian counterparts a run for their money.

The new Team Pilipinas was officially launched last November 25 along with the launch of the new Nike-Team Pilipinas kit. I must say, they looked real nice. 2008 has been a good year for Philippine Basketball. The players today show much promise as the professional league has experienced a rebirth of sorts. Not that they were toiling in mediocrity all these years but competition’s been up and everyone’s slowly taking notice and recognizing the Filipino talent. I must admit, it’s been a while since I’ve last seen the local pros play ball, but I’m proud to say that I’m a fan once again.

Now on to the good stuff. The Team Pilipinas kits incorporate the Swift System of Dress basketball uniform that eliminates 25 cm of material that reduces current uniform weight by 31%. The new uniform also features Nike Aerographics- an engineered mesh that provides zoned cooling, again reducing up to half the yarn, making it more lightweight than ever. In layman’s terms, Team Pilipinas’ kits resemble the threads Team USA, Germany and China wore during the Beijing Olympics. Talk about world-class standards.

Aside from the kits, a specially designed crest was also launched to symbolize the team’s mission. Good friend AJ Dimarucot designed the crest, and this crest will be on everyone’s consciousness once the team plays their first major tournament in May ’09 for the SEABA Qualifiers.

Team Pilipinas replica kits are available at Nike stores nationwide. Jerseys are priced at Php 1,695, shorts at Php 1,295, and jackets at Php 2,395.