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MANILA -- It has been a week of firsts for Filipinos.

Following Filipina-Japanese golfer Yuka Saso’s stunning win at the US Women’s Open – making her the first Filipino to win a major golf tournament anywhere – this time, Quiccs Maiquez, an internationally acclaimed Filipino toy designer, will find his inaugural work on the James Harden Volume 5 basketball shoe out in the market with a distinct local flavor.

The Adidas James Harden Volume 5, dubbed, “Manila Heritage” made, its international debut during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first round play-offs between Harden’s team, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Boston Celtics (with the series ultimately won by the former).

Filipino and international NBA fans went nuts at the sight of the smart and colorful design of the Manila Heritage sneaker with Facebook groups and other social media chat rooms buzzing with anticipation of the shoes’ release – fittingly – on Philippine Independence Day, June 12.

The uniquely designed shoe is the fruit of the collaboration between Quiccs and Harden, and incorporates a lot of design elements reminiscent of the Filipino’s’ previous designs which are influenced by graffiti, Japanese robots, and hip-hop culture.

The Manila Heritage features a lot of Easter eggs for basketball fans, Filipinos in general, and followers of Quiccs himself.

First of all, it is the fulfillment of a promise made by the NBA star to Filipino fans during his visit last June 26, 2019.

“Harden promised that he was going to have a shoe designed just for his fans in this corner of the world. And now he has made good on this promise,” said Quiccs, who immortalized that date on the shoe design itself.

Second, the shoe displays the colors of the Philippine flag with the sole of left shoe featuring Quiccs’ famous TEQ toy wrapped in a jacket of Philippine colors while the right sole is a stylized design of Harden holding the ball.

The number “+63,” the Philippines’ international direct dial code, is on the shoe with the three yellow dots signifying the country’s main islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Quiccs’ name, of course, appears on the shoe.

“Ever since I began designing toys since 2012, I have always paid tribute to Adidas,” Quiccs said of his favorite shoe brand. “Not only is it my favorite shoe, but the brand is intrinsic to hip-hop culture and I love hip-hop music. I have always dreamt about collaborate with the brand. And now it is happening.”

After he was invited to design a series of shirts for the international sportswear brand, Quiccs has gone on to become a brand ambassador and creator for Adidas.

Now, not only has he designed a shoe for Harden, but from all initial reports, it is going to be a best-seller.

And he isn’t done with shoe designs. Quiccs is working on Adidas Originals (the iconic Superstar, among others) that is set to debut this August.

Things are looking up for this young multi-disciplinary designer. Prior to the Manila Heritage Harden shoe, Quiccs just finished a collaboration with SecretLabs for gaming chairs as well as dabbling with limited edition designer baseball cards for Topps.

The James Harden 5 Manila Heritage will come out in all Adidas Philippine flagship stores on June 12.