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| The adidas adiZero Rose 2.5 meets the world today. |
*Photos from the event are by me, while those of the shoe (the nice ones) and of Derrick Rose are from Adidas Philippines.
*UPDATE (Feb. 7, 2012): I added two new images from SoleMovement.com. These are the team pictures for Team 3 -- the WINNING team in the Media Challenge.
*UPDATE (Feb. 7, 2012): I added two new images from SoleMovement.com. These are the team pictures for Team 3 -- the WINNING team in the Media Challenge.
After the JUMP – highlights of the Rose 2.5 media launch and what makes this particular shoe one of the most awesome finds out there.
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| The 2.5 is so light it keeps D-Rose in flight much longer than most! |
Adidas can throw one hell of a media launch!
Where: Moro Lorenzo Sports Center in the sprawling Ateneo de Manila University Campus
When: January 25, 2012
Hosts: Rico Robles and Lia Cruz for the actual launch and Andre Felix and Eric Tipan for the Media Game
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| Rico Robles and Lia Cruz were the official emcees. |
What Happened:
- Skills Challenge: Adidas organized a not-so-simple skills challenge to show off how the pros can benefit from wearing the 2.5s. The challengers were B-Meg’s Josh Urbiztondo, JC Intal (he was still a Gin King then, but now he’s with B-Meg!) and Ateneo’s Gwynne Capacio. They had to sidestep parallel to one end of the court, run full speed to the other end, backpedal parallel to that end, dribble-weave thru a set of cones for a lay-up at the opposite basket, make a chest pass thru a vertically-oriented hoop, dribble-weave again, hit a free throw, hit a three, make a bounce pass thru a negatively-inclined hoop, then dribble all the way to the opposite end for a lay-up or, in Intal’s case, a dunk! Phew! Did you get all that? Quite a test for the players and the 2.5s.
Not surprisingly, Urbiztondo was the fastest of the three. Though Intal had considerably longer strides, it was Urbiztondo’s quickness at the turns and accurate outside shooting that enabled him to win. Curiously enough, all three fumbled when it came to the bounce-pass station of the course. I guess not even a great pair of shoes can cure problems with fundamentals.
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| Josh Urbiztondo getting ready for the Skills Challenge. |
- Shoe Introduction: Rico Robles and Lia Cruz introduced the shoe to the different members of the media. By media, I don’t simply mean people from TV, radio, or print. Those were all represented, of course, but one of the things I loved about this event was that Adidas went out of its way to invite “online media people” like bloggers (ahem!) to participate. Props to them for recognizing the changing media landscape. Bloggers rule!
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| Wesley Gonzales chilling with his new 2.5s. |
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| Some Ateneo Blue Eagles got their 2.5s, too! |
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| Sole Movement's Martin David (white shirt) looks at the shoe with intense interest. |
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| Some celebs from the world of pro sports media were on hand to participate. |
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| The Media peeps stretching before the Media Games. |
- Anyway, officials from Adidas Philippines, led by Nolet Puno, JM Pilares, and Ryan Gan explained the many aspects of the 2.5, and what made it a distinctly superior choice compared to many other shoes in the market. These will be detailed below.
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| Ryan Gan explaining the Speed Cell. |
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| Nolet Puno with opening remarks. |
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| JM Pilares (left) went thru the different details of the shoe. Here he's with UP stars Jett Manuel and Mike Silungan. |
- Media Games: The main attraction for the event, of course, was the shoe, but the main activity/event were the basketball games between the different media people. Outfitted with gear from Adidas (including the 2.5s!), the myriad of writers, marketing people, newscasters, and photographers were divided into four teams in a single-elimination tournament. “Win or Go Home” as the NBA adage goes. I was placed into Team 3, and my most recognizable teammates were Jude Turcuato of the “Kaboom!” phrase fame, and former UE courtside reporter, current Magic 89.9 DJ, and SLAM writer, Nikko Ramos. Jude was a solid presence down low and Nikko was our top wing player. Both could shoot from the outside and pound it inside. I was more of the playmaker (naks!). We romped past Team 4 in our first game and withstood Team 1’s late rally in the second game to win the whole thing! What was our prize? Read on and find out!
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| Your Hoop Nut is the second one from the left! (image from SoleMovement.com) |
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| Our team won 60K worth of GCs, split about 12 ways. (image from SoleMovement.com) |
Freebies & Prizes: All participants were given the following freebies from Adidas (all original mind you):
- Reversible red/black Clima-Lite/Dri-Fit Jersey (the proper Adidas term is Clima-Lite, but most people recognize the cloth as Dri-Fit)
- Reversible red/black Clima-Lite/Dri-Fit Shorts
- White Adidas Ankle Socks
- Adidas Adizero Rose 2.5 Shoes
- Micoach Speed Cell
- 1GB Adidas USB Flash Drive
- Our team’s prize for winning the Media Games was 60k worth of GCs! Divided 12 ways, it came around to 5k per person!
- All in all, I think each member on Team 3 went home with upwards of 15k worth of stuff! Awesome!
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| One blogger getting a photo-op with the shoes. All the gear on him was free c/o adidas Philippines. |
One word for the Adizero Rose 2.5 – A W E S O M E!!!
Here are the specs of Derrick Rose’s new pair of kicks. We were all given high-cuts, but I’m pretty sure they’ll come out with mids sometime in the year. It was mentioned that D-Rose started using the 2.5s as early as December 2011, but its official release is today, February 2, 2012, here in the Philippines.
Specs:
- Weight: About 11 ounces! To put this in perspective, my baby daughter’s Dr. Brown’s feeding bottle can hold a maximum of 12 ounces. Just imagine, a baby’s feeding bottle is heavier than this shoe!
- Technology: Here’s an excerpt from the official Adidas Adizero Rose 2.5 press kit à
o The tech in the UPPER:
§ Inspired by the Adizero Crazy Light, the 2.5 features premium SPRINTFRAME execution and an enlarged SPRINTWEB area to reduce weight, add support and allow maximum motion control. The GEOFIT memory foam collar provides optimum comfort and fit.
o The tech in the OUTSOLE:
§ The 2.5 uses the Adizero Crazy Light outsole traction system and has varied engineered thickness to ensure maximum grip in high wear perimeter zones, and less thickness and weight in low perimeter zones like the midfoot.
- Colorways (Home, Away, Dragon, Brenda, All-Star, and Memphis): The 2.5 comes in 6 different colorways that should any and all preferences.
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| The adiZero Rose 2.5 Away colorway. |
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| The adiZero Rose 2.5 Home colorway. |
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| The adiZero Rose 2.5 Dragon colorway. |
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| The adiZero Rose 2.5 Brenda colorway. (named after D-Rose's mother) |
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| The adiZero Rose 2.5 All-Star Weekend colorway. |
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| The adiZero Rose 2.5 Memphis colorway. (named after D-Rose's college team -- the Memphis Tigers) |
- Another nice touch is that, if one would look close enough, an embossed image of a top-down Google Earth view of D-Rose’s home neighborhood of Englewood, Chicago can be seen on the upper of the shoe. Rose’s signature and jersey number 1 are also featured in other parts of the 2.5.
- Perhaps one of most glaring differences between this particular shoe and the others, however, is an added piece of tech called the miCoach Speed Cell. It’s basically a chip/digital device that tracks and uploads the wearer’s performance data, including speed, maximum speed, number of sprints, distance, distance at high intensity levels and time. The data from the Speed Cell can then be used to upgrade one’s original Adidas miCoach avatar on the web, or shared with friends on Facebook for “bragging rights.” The Speed Cell is attached to the shoe pre-play, detached post-play, and then connected to either a PC or Mac to be uploaded to the miCoach software.
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| The miCoach Speed Cell. |
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| Track your performance in your computer! |
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| Create an avatar and upgrade him thru your own performance! |
How it made me feel: Simply put, wearing the shoe felt awesome!
- It lived up to its claim of being really light! The insole was soft, but the lining was solid enough so as not to make the shoe feel flimsy. Nice balance all throughout. The upper was solid, too, and was tight enough so as to help decrease the chances of sprains and other ankle-related injuries. I felt that the shoe wrapped around my feet quite snugly (yes, that’s a real word).
- When running/jogging, I only really felt I was wearing shoes because, in my mind, I knew I had them on, and I could see them. Otherwise, it was hardly noticeable that there was any added weight on my feet. Again, pretty awesome. Probably the lightest shoes I’ve ever worn. The closest that can come to the 2.5’s “lightness” is probably the Nike Air Foamposites from years past.
- I can’t really say the 2.5 “made me faster,” but it certainly made “bursting into a sprint” or making a quick turn a little easier. I mean, no shoe can really make anyone The Flash, but that extra ease in transitioning from a stationary position to a sprint or jump can be the difference in making a play or not.
So All in All…
The shoe is awesome. Light as a feather. And if you use it well, you’ll sting like a bee. And, well, it’s the preferred shoe of the youngest NBA MVP ever. I think that speaks for itself.
By today, the 2.5s should be available in Adidas stores all over. SRP is Php 6,995.00.
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| Light as a feather, so you can sting like a bee. |
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