MORE THAN A GAME. While there were many challenges, many unknowns, many uncertainties that came with giving up everything to go double-down on a never-before-attempted start-up, it was the knowledge – that to Filipinos, basketball is more than just another sport – that inspired the founders of TITAN to create a home for the truest fans of the game.

In 2010, Levon Rondina was sitting in an office barely big enough for him and the three other pioneer employees of TITAN. It was a groundbreaking task: a single-category store dedicated solely to basketball, for Filipino basketball fans. In the beginning, the founders had only but each other to mount office furniture, to place orders, to envision and eventually create the store itself. Now Chief Brand Officer, Levon remembers his very first task as soon as TITAN opened: be its first Store Manager.

A little over a month after its doors opened, the spark of an idea actually ignited. Literally. A vintage barber’s chair overheated in the middle of the night, caught fire and almost burned the whole store, the whole dream, to the ground. “It was a sad sight but we went in as soon as the smoke cleared to clean the whole space covered in soot ourselves and opened a few days after like nothing happened.”

Ten years later, TITAN has come farther and further than the founders initially planned. But the dream lives on: to serve the basketball community the world over, and introduce to them what the famous Filipino Love for the Game has given birth to.

WHILE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS that stand out about Titan as a basketball retailer, the most definable aspect of the brand that was built FLOTG can be seen through the heart and hands of Jeffrey “The Jet” Cariaso.

As one of TITAN’s co-founders, Coach Jeff is the driving force behind the brand’s various grassroots programs and initiatives such as the Titan Basketball Academy, SLAM Summer Hoops Camp, Titan Summer Jam, and the Deer Valley Titans––all of which were conceived for the sole purpose of bringing Philippine basketball to greater heights by playing the game the right way.

Through his experiences as a player and Head Coach of the Alaska Aces, everything Coach Jeff teaches has a purpose, ready to be passed on to the next generation of ballers and leaders of the game. “The values I use to guide and lead at TITAN are the same values I use at Alaska. A hard work ethic and passion are the basics. What you hold each other more accountable to are discipline, honesty, integrity, and trust. Then, you bring it all together and focus on building chemistry and relationships.”

Ten years into the TITAN story, we learn that there’s more to basketball than just the game. It matters how you play it.

“We are more than just a brick and mortar brand. We want to tell stories, create an awesome experience when you come to us, and we want to help and support the future of Philippine basketball.”

WHEN CAMILLE FIRST BEGAN PLAYING BASKETBALL, she only wanted to join in on the fun that her dad and brother were having. But now, the 15 year-old plays for a higher purpose and a bigger dream. After making the Philippine roster in the Jr. NBA Global Championships for Asia Pacific in 2019, Camille’s basketball talents have gone to a new stratosphere. With her, it’s no longer a matter of how far she’ll make it, but when she’ll get there; fueled by the hope of one day joining the National Team and playing in the WNBA.

It’s because of this promise that she is among the Deer Valley Titans: the brand’s roster of elite professional and collegiate players – and her. “I am most excited about being able to inspire young ballers to never stop pursuing their dreams, and I’m also looking forward to learning from everyone in the roster to improve my game.”

Camille is so much more than just a superstar in the making. In many ways, she is representative of why TITAN was born, why it continues to exist, and who it is committed to serve in the decades to come.

YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT BRAND LOYALTY? Thirdy Ravena personifies it. A fan of the brand since high school, Thirdy went through it all––from waiting in line at special releases to being a sneaker raffle hopeful. He still recalls being fueled by the excitement of being invited to the first-ever SLAM Rising Stars Classic in 2014. And he’s come a long way since—clinching three straight UAAP titles with a Finals MVP trophy next to each, and even earning his spot on the National Team roster.

All of these achievements are products of his insane work ethic, fierce competitive drive, and unwavering love for the game. He may have already stepped out of his family’s shadow, but the 23-year old is nowhere near done carving his own path and feeding his hunger for challenges. His next chapter? To take his trademark hard work straight to Japan’s B-League. “I always want the challenge, I always want the hardships,” says Thirdy. “It’s an easier choice for me not to settle than to be comfortable wherever I am.”

And Thirdy embraces the discomfort. “I could’ve been in the PBA easily,” he says. “But that’s not who I am."

FROM THE FIRST TIME Jacques Slade triple-tapped a shoebox and asked “What’s Poppin?”, sneaker content was never the same again. Here is a pioneer who has established himself as the world’s best, most talented and hardest-working documentarian of the culture.

Quick to adapt to new trends, eager to learn what is still unknown to him, and open to thoughts and ideas from any and all sources, Jacques is as beloved by those in the industry as he is admired and respected by them. Over the years, his relationship with TITAN has grown, built off of an opportune meeting, fostered and deepened by shared values and a unique love for the best that the industry can become.

Asked about his take on a Filipino brand collaborating with Nike and why that partnership is something that resonates with his audience, Jacques points to a rare commodity in this era of hype: authenticity. “They hear it in my voice, they hear it in your storytelling.”

Working with the biggest brands on the largest campaigns featuring the game’s biggest athletes, Jacques puts a premium on making sure that real stories, no matter how small, continue to get told, for the good of the scene’s ecosystem. For him, there are some non-negotiables, some classic formulas that will always work. One of those is being true to yourself, to your community, to who you speak to and what you speak about.

He applies that to himself, he looks for that in stories and brands and people he supports. “Let’s open our eyes, let’s look outside the usual and find these different things around the world that can blossom into something much bigger.