WHEN ALYSSA Valdez etched Ateneo’s place in volleyball history way back in UAAP Season 76, she had on a pair of Kobe 8s. Specifically, the Philippine-exclusive Kobe 8 PP “Gorge Green.”
(Read: Alyssa Valdez's Season 76 championship was one of the decade's best moments in volleyball.)
It was these shoes that sparked Valdez’s love affair with Kobe’s signature shoes, she once told Spin.ph.
“I got my very first championship sa UAAP wearing Kobe 8 na green and ang ganda ng feel and doon na nag-start,” said Valdez. “[F]or me, I love playing in my Kobe shoes. It takes time kasi to look for and find something na ganoon 'yung feeling [pag sinusuot ko] katulad ng Kobe 8. At saka, I love the colorways.”
Now, eight years after the Phenom’s historic championship, she posted a photo that’s giving many Lady Eagle fans all the feels. “OG,” she wrote as she tweeted a pic of green Kobe 8s. “S76!!!”
Alyssa sneaker throwback sparks tributes
The photo triggered a flood of memories and tributes in the comments section.
“Sign and frame that na!!!” said sports lawyer and Spin.ph legal columnist Mickey Ingles.
“The legendary shoes,” said another commenter. “The shoes that [were] a big factor in the first champio[n]ship of ateneo and the rise of PH volleyball up till now.”
On GOAT.com, the Kobe 8 System "Philippines Pack - Gorge Green" is listed at $604, or around P35,217, for a size 9. Initially released in the Philippines back in 2013, the Kobe 8 PPs came in four colorways to celebrate UAAP basketball.
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