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| The first Gilas jersey of the Adidas era is here. Ivan Saldajeno |
MAKATI--Gilas Pilipinas began its new era with a fresh identity on Thursday night after officially unveiling its new jerseys.
In a special jersey reveal at Monarch Manila, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas proudly showed Gilas' new white and blue kits to put its new jersey partnership with Adidas into effect.
"This partnership marks a new chapter in Philippine basketball," said Dave Sexton, Adidas Philippines' country manager.
"It is a shared commitment in really developing the Filipino talent and elevating our game on the global stage," added SBP president Al Panlilio.
Sexton added that the kit sponsorship deal will run through all the national team programs under SBP, including the Gilas teams at both the 5-on-5 and 3x3 levels, as well as the E-Gilas NBA 2K national team.
Adidas brought back the shade of blue that Gilas fans are more accustomed to for the national team's home jerseys.
At least for the first Gilas jerseys in the Adidas era, the global sports apparel giant also kept the design simple, but still enough to show the Filipino spirit in it.
The women's team will be the first to bring out the new Adidas kits when they play in the FIBA Women's Asia Cup starting this Sunday in Shenzhen, China.
The men's team will then suit up with the new jerseys for the FIBA Asia Cup starting Aug. 5 in Riyadh, although they might also wear the new kits when they take on the Macau Black Bears in a special send-off game on July 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The new Gilas jerseys will be made available at selected Adidas stores beginning July 26 for PHP3,900.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
