Cooking up something new

In a new twist, an underdog sports brand is shocking the game of basketball with the release of four funky new basketball shoe designs based on food.

In a by-invitation only event attended by select sports media and young athletes early this week, Avid Sports launched shoes patterned after universally loved Chinese cuisine. The ANTA Shock The Game SHOW4 Chinese Cuisine Pack shoes feature technology like NitroEdge and 3D torsional slices of carbon fiber. The sneakers themselves are covered in bright splashes of color with iconography of seafood, of crayfish, barbecue and river snail rice noodle, and are good to go on any surface.

“We hope to shock the game with these shoes that have the latest technology in them,” explained JP Paglinawan, general manager of Anta Ph. “As you can see, each shoe is also colorful in how it represents our favorite food, so it adds a dash of fun to your game.”

The lunch was also attended by basketball players like Rain or Shine guard Anton Asistio, Anta’s first endorser in the Philippines, as well as Nico Elorde, Tonino Gonzaga, LA Revilla, PBA personalities like broadcaster Mikee Reyes and strength and conditioning coach Aldo Panlilio, among others.

“I really thought I would still have to break it in, like I do other playing shoes,” reveals Asistio. “But they’re very comfortable and grip the floor really well.”

Although more expensive than their regular athletic footwear, the new four-pack of shoes are still about 20 percent cheaper than similar basketball shoes or bigger brands. And unlike in the past when the major American and European brands were trying to one-up each other in courting younger athletes by trying to be more up-to-date and hip, Anta seems to have won this round of the generational wars. Their fresh takes and bright, less cluttered colorways make other brands seem staid and old, for now. Anta also scored a coup last month by signing the equally colorful, unconventional and game-changing forward Calvin Abueva, a perfect ambassador for the brand.

On social media, the new launches in the country have already generated international attention, with Fil-Am ballers from as far as Canada and the US sending inquiries about where to get the shoes. The food-based footwear products are feeding an appetite for a new taste in basketball, and Anta Philippines is currently leading the way.