JERSEYS aren't just uniforms, but also a statement of one's school pride.
With these kits providing a blank canvas, it provides an opportunity for current players to pay homage to those who walked this same path — linking the past to the future — while making their current boosters proud.
It's with this rationale that ANTA Philippines took on the task of dressing four schools with its ANTA Varsity Project.
Adamson, University of Santo Tomas, San Beda, and St. Benilde were decked out in classic yet sleek looks as they paid tribute to past championship seasons with their uniforms for the ongoing collegiate season.
"The UAAP and the NCAA is all about tradition. We wanted to connect the players not just to the students but also to the alumni," Mikko Abello, the company's marketing manager, told Spin.ph.
It's a bold statement for ANTA Philippines as their uniforms were quick to draw raves and praises from fans and players alike.
But it's not just something that is aesthetically appealing. Abello shared that a lot of thought came to designing these jerseys. ANTA consulted school officials and made sure that they did it the right way.
"All the uniform designs were outfitting is very collaborative. We didn't want to just go with what looked good for us," he said. "We want to make sure na it's inspired by a past championship season of each of the schools. We also got to learn more about the schools we partnered."

ANTA kits out Adamson with Hector Calma throwback
For Adamson, which ANTA Philippines was already outfitting last season, the choice to go with the 1977-78 championship team was a no-brainer. It was the last time that the Soaring Falcons hoisted the trophy, with Hector Calma steering the San Marcelino team to the UAAP Season 40 crown in mismatched blue-and-white jerseys.
Unfortunately, collegiate rules at present require teams to wear similarly colored top and bottoms, so ANTA couldn't one-hundred percent replicate the classic look. "We wanted to go with white top and blue shorts, but they still look great and they still look clean," remarked Abello.

Chito Loyzaga throwback powers San Beda jersey
It's much the same for San Beda which celebrated the 45th anniversary of its NCAA Season 53 crown — curiously in the same athletic calendar of 1977-78.
Abello shared that there were actually two choices for the Red Lions. The first is the kit you see now. The second was the jersey used back in the fourth season of the NCAA in 1927 to 1928, where the team won their first basketball championship.
Ultimately, "they decided to go with 1977 because back then, they had great players like Chito Loyzaga and coach Frankie Lim."

Bal David makes UST kit decision easy
The choices were just as difficult for a multi-titled team like UST, although the entry of coach Bal David as the new man at the helm made the decision a quick one.
"Ang bilis lang ng usapan namin. We thought, why don't we go with the last championship year of Coach Bal?" said Abello, discussing the Growling Tigers threads inspired by the UAAP Season 57 team back in 1994 to 1995.
"We were thinking na the last time the people saw this design was the last year coach Bal played in the UAAP, and now, yung next na magsusuot na are his players. So it's a full circle moment."

Benilde uniforms connect past and present
As for CSB, its lone crown came in 2000-01 as Sunday Salvacion steered the squad to the NCAA Season 76 crown. However, the Blazers wore black jerseys then. as green was still not the school's main color.
For Abello, the Blazers kit gave ANTA Philippines the chance to really hammer home the idea of connecting the past to the present. "St. Benilde started out as black, so back then they weren't allowed to wear green but now they are," he said.
ANTA Varsity Project hopes to make kits that stand the test of time
Seeing how the project turned out showed that ANTA Philippines was onto something. Abello envisioning these uniforms as proud mementos for these players long after their playing days.
"We know how hard these kids have been working to make it to this stage and we want to give them uniforms na worth keeping until they're old, because that's something na medyo nawala. We also want to step it up a bit with the designs," he said.
"These uniforms aren't replicas, but rather just inspired of those championship jerseys. We gave it a 2022 spin and we love how the stories behind the uniforms turned out."
The ANTA Varsity Project, though, is just the tip of the iceberg. The Philippine arm of the sports manufacturing company plans to not just cater to basketball but also to other sports.
"We want to go beyond basketball, beyond the UAAP and the NCAA," shared Abello. "We want to support sports in general. It's gonna be more than basketball. [Expect] track and field soon, and it won't be just Manila."
ANTA Philippines is already in discussions with two more schools in the Visayas region as they plan to give the same treatment in time for the opening of its store in Cebu in December.
The company also hopes to snowball the success of this to a bigger platform for the student athletes.
"Further down the line, we want it to be more of just dressing them up," Abello said.
"Hopefully next year, we can build a scholarship fund for the athletes. We know na education is expensive and you won't get to the next level, and it all starts with education. We want to provide that eventually and help the student-athletes in that way."
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