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NPC Seal of Registration
Esquire has been granted the NPC Seal of Registration in recognition of the successful registration of its DPO and DPS
PHOTO: MIGUEL CARLOS TARROSA
College basketball is a different animal and the same beast. They may not be pros (yet) but that doesn't mean they don't command our respect on and off the hardwood. We say that because college sports represent everything we love about the game: the roar of the crowd, the age-old chants, the drunk oldheads watching, and, of course, the colors of the communities we come from.
James Kwekuteye
Peter Alfaro
Jacob Cortez
Cut to the kits. In the most recent seasons of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), we might have spotted some shades of the past. Players, fans, outsiders, and alumni have been talking up the uniforms of Adamson University Falcons, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, San Beda University Red Lions, and the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde Blazers recently for their new school-old school look. It's no accident. ANTA Philippines had it all planned out. The threads aren't exactly throwbacks, but they do have that retro cool. Just the way we like it.
ANTA Philippines wanted the hype from the classic feel to reflect the new wave energy that comes with the ANTA Varsity Project, a program that hopes to support student-athletes across all sports and corners in the country. In an era where sports teams are going sublimated with their stuff, ANTA zigs by giving us jerseys that are cut and stitched.
Joem Sabandal
Jed Colonia
Joshua Yerro
They've been treated with care, as we may observe. The attention to detail on these jerseys are something else. With it comes a new era for the brand, one where it goes all in on empowering students and setting them up for success in the future. It should make our alumni pretty damn proud. The results speak for itself.
Despite being a relatively younger player in the game, ANTA has gone on to become one of the largest sports groups in the world since its inception in the '90s. Its actually the third-biggest in the world now. In the Philippines, suffice to say, they're a pretty big deal these days. So much so that its been entrusted to honor the schools' respective histories. "If you'll notice, you can see that the uniforms everyone's wearing, we wanted to bring it back to their glory days," ANTA Philippines Marketing Manager Mikko Abello. "The NCCA and UAAP, it's all about tradition.
They did it the right way, by the way. By that, Abello says they collaborated with a Filipino designer who has done some work with other global brands, as well as school officials to get the aesthetic, vibe, and pantones just right. Together they chose which championship season to take inspiration from.
Prince Carlos
Will Gozum
JC Cullar
“Apart from students, you also want to connect with alumni. So the idea was to choose uniforms from one championship season (for) each school. All these schools have become champions at least once," Abello adds. "We didn't exactly want to (just) replicate. It's more of being inspired (by) that particular season. It has that retro vibe."
For Adamson, it was the 1977 to 1978 team from UAAP Season 40, the one with Hector Calma. Meanwhile, In UST's case, it was that Bal David championship run from 1994 to 1995, UAAP Season 57 to be exact.
San Beda, on the other hand, went with the NCCA Season 53 look, the Frankie Lim-led 1977 squad that boasted one of the greatest college ball players ever, Chito Loyzaga. As for Benilde, ANTA Philippines took inspiration from the Sunday Salvacion-led Blazers team back in the 2000 to 2001 season. Coincidentally, the Blazers have a strong case to win the title this year, too. Imagine the clout for ANTA if they win it all, right?
But it just isn't about the clout for ANTA nor is it just about the hype (They already have enough of that). There's something more to the ANTA Varsity Project that goes beyond the jerseys or the hardwood or the fanfare. Apart from connecting a new generation of hoopers to the past, it wants to give back to the present by funding students' pursuits. "Anta isn't just a basketball brand," the marketing manager notes. "One of our core sports aside from basketball is track."
Ateneo Blue Eagles' JC Fetalvero
The Varsity Project is already working with teams from other schools for their 2023 kits. ANTA Philippines wants to work with cheerdance squads and track teams somewhere down the line. Abello makes it clear that the brand's ultimate goal is to build a foolproof scholarship fund for these student-athletes. As the brand adds more branches nationwide, so the program grows with it. There's a winning culture here, we can see. It's all about tradition, and ANTA has only just begun. The hype. We got to believe the hype, man.
