HAVING his own signature shoe line still feels surreal for Scottie Thompson.
Even with the black colorway being launched as the second for his World Balance ST1 line, the Ginebra guard is just humbled for the opportunities that have opened for him.
"Truly honored," said the reigning PBA MVP. "Dati meron naman sila kuya Mark [Caguioa], but mas iba ito kasi talagang designed siya for me."
Thompson's ST1 line follows those local hoopers who have copped signature shoe deals in the past, among them Terrence Romeo's TR7 for Peak and Ginebra legends Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand for Accel.
What's different with these World Balance sneakers is that Thompson himself can attest to its durability, wearing these kicks as early as the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup in Clark,
"Hindi ako ipapahiya nitong sapatos na ito," he attested. "Alam niyo naman na sobrang extreme ko maglaro sa PBA, so itong sapatos na ito for extreme performance talaga at nakikipagsabayan ito."

Why Scottie Thompson chose black and gold as the next colorway of the ST1
These black colorways, though, hold a special place in Thompson's heart.
After all, these are the same sneakers which he wore in the Gin Kings' past championship run in the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup where he won his first Best Player of the Conference trophy en route to claiming the MVP award.
"Isa ito sa naging favorite ko kasi ito yung ginamit ko nung Finals series against Meralco last conference," Thompson said. "Yung colorway na ito, marami nang na-achieve. Even though marami akong ginagamit na colorway last conference, most of the time yung black and gold talaga ang ginagamit ko."
This, Thompson said, is just the start as he and World Balance eye to release more colorways and hopefully, next year release a brand new pair of kicks.
"Marami pang colorway na ilalabas and yung next is yung Christmas edition naman," he said. "Hopefully baka next year, may ST2 na."
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