A Filipino dream

Philip Go has always been a dreamer. As it turns out, after more than two decades of building businesses for others, he is now fulfilling his own dream, that of creating a world-class sports brand that is proudly Filipino.

After graduating from the University of Santo Tomas, Go pursued his love for business with Rubberworld Philippines, which manufactured the classic Kaypee and Grosby brands. If you recall, Kaypee was a long-time sponsor of the "Kaypee at the Half" halftime show of the PBA broadcasts, and supplied many of the sport’s elite with its locally-made footwear. Grosby, meanwhile, rode on the wild popularity of "Black Superman" Billy Ray Bates, creating many outrageously-colored styles for him to wear when he was with Crispa and Ginebra. Needless to say, that put the brand on the map, and Bates even took several pairs back to the US with him.

However, internal and external forces eventually slowed down Rubberworld’s operations, and a fire at their Novaliches plant all but decimated their production capability. It was time to move on.

Philip Go’s work in close to two decades, however, would not remain unnoticed. Soon, he became managing director of Adidas Philippines, a very rare occasion where a non-expat would be running the multinational’s operations. Exciting times lay ahead.

In 1996, Adidas launched their Streetball Challenge, a nationwide 3-on-3 basketball tournament for the youth. It grew in great bounds, until Kobe Bryant himself flew to Manila to witness the Asian Finals in Manila in 1998. Tracy McGrady also visited in 1999.

As the new millennium approached, however, Go found that he had a long-neglected itch he couldn’t scratch. His dream surfaced, and the opportunity came.

"My whole team and I decided to put up Sporteum, Inc., with the goal of creating a practical alternative sports brand," Sporteum’s chairman explained. "When Rubberworld stopped operations, there was a big vacuum in the market. What was left were the international brands, and they were either very expensive, or very cheap but you couldn’t use them for sports."

Go set to work, first obtaining the rights to distribute and design selective items for Brooks, the tennis shoes that Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors wore back in the 1980’s. Eventually, with a little research and plenty of instincts, Go decided to start a new brand: Accel.

"We’ve only been in the market for less than two years, but the response has been very encouraging," Go muses. "People nowadays are very practical. Why would they pay double for something they may only wear for a few months?"

Accel’s designs are all created by young Filipinos, and the prototypes are made in China, in the same places where multinational brands have their manufacturing facilities. What strikes most people is the fact that these high-quality athletic shoes come in at under P 2,000 a pair.

The first big break for Accel came when the FedEx Express entered the PBA. The team’s management, old friends of Go, opened the door for Accel to receive nationwide exposure by sponsoring the neophyte team beginning in 2002.

Soon, the market opened up to Accel. Selectively sponsoring events like a celebrity tennis tournament and a benefit basketball game involving actors, models and singers, Accel started turning heads. And pulling in revenue.

"It’s a never-ending quest to improve," admits Go. "When you pull in so much, you want to improve. And we’re constantly improving the product. In the beginning, the soles of some of our basketball shoes were hard. We quickly replaced them. It costs us a little more, but the consumers appreciate it."

To date, Accel sports gear - shoes and apparel - has over 200 dealers nationwide, to the point that Go has had to enlarge his showroom to accommodate an ever-expanding product line. His big score for 2003: Accel is now the official maker of PBA licensed merchandise.

"We have a lot of ideas that the PBA is allowing us to implement," said Go. "Aside from the replica jerseys of favorite players, we have t-shirts with action shots of them. We have caps, team bags and a lot of other items."

The Accel PBA line is already on display in many sporting goods and department stores, and will be a centerpiece of the PBA fashion show on Wednesday. It all fulfills a long-time dream of a dedicated businessman and patriot. Philip Go has finally created a Filipino brand that we can be proud of.

*****

Don’t miss this week’s episode of The Basketball Show from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. over IBC-13. A primer on the PBA’s 2003 season opens the show, and we look back on Jojo Lastimosa’s illustrious career, and the budding one of San Miguel Beer rookie Marlon Legaspi and the youngsters in Bert Lina’s tournament for six-foot youngsters. The Basketball Show is sponsored by Adidas, Columbia International Foods, Red Horse Extra Strong Beer and Umbro.