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The FIBA World
Championships' 2006 Organising Committee has announced that
they are going to use Molten's flagship basketball model GL7
as their official ball. GL7 is an innovative, highly visible
ball with a twelve-panel, two-tone coloured design, which
makes the game much more exciting. With the new technology,
GL7 resolved conflicting issues of rebound speed and grip
performance. With the change in the FIBA regulations
regarding basketballs (i.e. The ball shall have eight
elliptically shaped panels with a brown or orange colour.)
the ball was recently redesigned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, one
of Italy's greatest car designers, and well known in the
last year for styling the new Alfa Brera and Fiat Grande
Punto.
Molten Corporation has been a long time partner of FIBA
(International Basketball Federation) and as a FIBA official
sponsor for more than 20 years, providing balls exclusively
for all the FIBA official tournaments including the
continental qualifications and the FIBA World Championships
since the 9th edition in 1982. Molten balls are used at
basketball federations, leagues, etc. worldwide and also
domestically in the JBL and WJBL as the official game ball.
The FIBA World Championship is the most prestigious
basketball event. It decides the champion from 212 nations
and regions worldwide that belong to FIBA, the International
Basketball Federation. Held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in
1950 for the first time, the Championship is held every four
years between Olympic Games, creating excitement and intense
and motivating scenes. From 2006, the number of
participating teams will be increased to 24, from 16. (The
host nation, the 2004 Olympic Champions, and nations/regions
that won the preliminary matches of Asia, Africa, America,
Europe and Oceania zones will all qualify for the
Championship.) This decision was made to address the
internationally enhanced level of basketball and the
circumstances that basketball is the most popular indoor
team sport in the world. The FIBA World Championship will
surely take on a growing importance and become the world's
most attractive sporting event. |
