It’s been years since Nike released a Philippine-themed basketball shoe in the market, but that long of a wait has come to an end, thanks to Nike By You.
The sporting giant’s local arm recently unveiled a Sabrina 3 clad in the country’s trademark red, white, and blue, and accented by a striking golden Swoosh–a color scheme that’s actually a brainchild of PBA star Chris Newsome.
“We had the freedom to choose exactly what we wanted to do, and I wanted to use mine to represent the country,” he told Tiebreaker Times.
Newsome has long been utilizing Nike By You–or NikeID, in the parlance of older millennials who lived in that era–to make custom pairs for himself, and he’s rocked a bevy of those, whether it be with the Meralco Bolts or Gilas.
But this latest shoe is easily his most personal, for it allowed him to show his appreciation to a country that’s helped make him who he is.
In essence, it’s a love letter he wrote together with Sabrina Ionescu, as the WNBA superstar also wanted to offer something for this hoop-crazed nation after feeling the warmth from Filipinos during her Manila visit last year.
“She loved the Philippines, so that’s why she really wanted to have something here in the Philippines that people would really kind of connect to,” he said.
The New York Liberty guard went to the Philippines as part of her Nike Asia Tour back in March of 2025, and Newsome himself was very much a part of the event, which culminated with an exhibition game at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
It gave him and his fellow Swoosh ambassadors the chance to rub elbows with Ionescu, but little did he know back then that a special project was already brewing behind the scenes, in which he’d eventually become a part of.
“They were offering some players here the opportunity to have a shoe that was made by some of the players, and Camille Clarin and I were actually the two that Sabrina remembered, that she chose for us to be able to create,” he said.
Next thing he knew, he was attending video calls with people from Nike together with Gilas Women stalwart Camille Clarin about the shoe and the whole process–from planning all the way to designing, which they all enjoyed.
“We had sessions with the Nike team; our design session was online with some representatives from Nike over in the US. So we had a few Zoom calls. Then we got to designing, and that was the fun part,” Newsome recalled.
(C) NIKE
And just last April 19, through his Instagram page, the veteran internationalist finally unveiled to the world his creation: the Nike Sabrina 3 ‘Laban Pilipinas.’
Using white as its base, the shoe features a blue pleated overlay, accentuated by red Flywire cables and embroidery of the same color. The laces come in red as well, with the Swooshes on the lateral and medial sides all in gold.
The Cushlon 3.0 midsole has “LABAN” inscribed on the left shoe and then “PHI” on the right. clearly a nod to the Philippine team’s ‘Laban Pilipinas’ rallying cry.
“They let me choose the colorway,” he said. “I got to play around with it, and they let me choose what I wanted to put.
“And so, I put ‘Laban Pilipinas ‘ on the back of the shoe, just so everyone knows that it’s for the Philippines.”
A small no. 3, his jersey number, in blue could also be seen on the heels, while an ice rubber outsole completes the shoe, made entirely via Nike By You.
“It’s a Nike By You campaign,” he said, “and they want people to kind of get into the customization of making your own shoe and just supporting Sabrina and her line. And she wants to expand her line globally, make a bigger impact.”
Newsome could’ve actually done something that featured, for instance, the navy blue and orange of his PBA team, or perhaps found and drawn inspiration from anywhere else. But he really wanted to dedicate as much to the Philippines.
“It’s pretty rare that you get to have that opportunity to make a shoe with Nike, with Sabrina,” he said. “Of course, I could’ve made it for Meralco, or I could’ve made it my own personal thing, my own personal story.
“But that’s my way of giving back to the country and showing how much I actually appreciate everything that this country has done for me as far as being in the PBA, being able to represent Gilas on the international stage.
“And I just wanted to make it for the people,” continued the 35-year-old Ateneo product, who has been with the Gilas program since 2019. “So of course, the first thing that came to mind was creating that shoe with the Gilas Pilipinas theme.”
From realizing his dreams of playing for the national team, Newsome has now checked another item off his bucket list: getting a shoe he could call his. And all this was thanks to Ionescu and the brand that’s been believing in them.
“It was a great opportunity. And I understand that’s not an opportunity that a lot of people get, that a lot of people would always dream of,” he said.
“It’s actually something that I’ve always dreamed of my whole life, to have a shoe that was made specifically for me.”
Newsome has already debuted his Sabrina 3 during the Bolts’ 112-91 rout of Barangay Ginebra in their Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup encounter last May 1 at the Big Dome, and expect to see it often on his feet from here on out.
In fact, he’s planning to rock ’em when Gilas returns to action in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers’ third window this July, at the same time looking to hook up his fellow Nike athletes in the men’s team with his shoe.
“I’m excited to wear it in our next window come July,” he said.
“Hopefully, I get to send out a pair to all my Gilas teammates and for those that are Nike athletes. It would be really nice to see everybody rocking that shoe that I designed.”
The Nike By You Sabrina 3 ‘Laban Pilipinas’ sells for ₱9,095.00 and is available for purchase on the Nike website and on the Nike app.
