LOOK: Gilas Pilipinas' winning moments immortalized in cool toy figures

On Saturday, Gilas Pilipinas will take on international powerhouses in the FIBA Basketball World Cup after 36 years of absence in the tournament. 

 

Filipino basketball fans are gearing up to watch the national team in action, in large part because of the emotional way the squad qualified for the tournament in the FIBA Asia Championship in Manila last year.

 

The win against South Korea in the semifinals of the Asian championship saw the image of Larry Fonacier on his knees while raising his arms to the air as the final buzzer sounded to seal. 

 

It is an iconic moment that, thanks to basketball toy collector Markdwin Cheng, is now immortalized in toy figures displayed at the recent ToyCon.

 

The Fonacier figure is part of a set of twelve, featuring other Gilas members and head coach Chot Reyes mounted on a replica of the MOA Arena court. 

 

Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood, Gary David, Marcus Douthit, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jimmy Alapag, Jason Castro, LA Tenorio, Jeff Chan, June Mar Fajardo, and Japeth Aguilar are captured doing their moves using NBA McFarlane figures which are hand-painted in exquisite detail to include tattoos and basketball shoes.

 

It was a big hit a the convention, according to Cheng. "Tuwing nakikita nila si Pingris, natutuwa sila," he told FullCourtFresh.com in an interview.

 

While Cheng himself was not able to watch the South Korea game live — "Nandito lang ako noon sa bahay, ubos na kasi yung ticket," he said — he wanted to create a remembrance of the historic moment in Philippine basketball.

 

Photos republished with permission from FullCourtFresh.com. To look at the full set, click here.