This Funko Pop celebrates Filipinos’ love for basketball
For the past three years, it’s become a tradition of sorts for Funko Funatic Philippines (FFP) to gather members before Toycon, so they can reveal their plans for the event and unveil the exclusive Funko Pop that can only be bought at Toycon.
“Our exclusive for this year is Freddy Funko wearing a Pilipinas basketball jersey. We’re combining two fandoms—Funko and basketball, since Filipinos are very passionate about basketball,” said Nikko Lim, founder of Funko Funatic Philippines, a large and thriving community of Filipino Funko collectors.
Lim shared that they thought of creating the Pilipinas Hoops Freddy Funko three years ago, inspired by the Philippines cohosting the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Only 1,000 pieces
The Funko Pop shows Freddy looking good in his Pilipinas jersey and a basketball in his hand. There are only 1,000 pieces available—and selling will be spread out across the different days of Toycon to make sure everyone gets a chance to buy.
“If you love Funko, if you love basketball, I think this would be a perfect collectible for you. But I advise everyone to come early.”
It’s available for P1,200 at the FFP booth at Toycon, which is happening until tomorrow at SMX Manila. You can also get a special event shirt.
To match the exclusive release, FFP’s booth at Toycon this year will be all about basketball. “We’ll have a court where attendees can shoot hoops and win prizes like Funko Pops, exclusive pins, lanyards, merch. The staff will be wearing jerseys,” said Lim.
Exciting things
There are two other special Funko Pops that people can purchase at the FFP booth—the glow-in-the-dark Jollibee Funko Pop that first made an appearance at FFP’s 2024 Christmas party. “There’s also Luffy from ‘One Piece.’ It’s actually a shared exclusive. In the US, they came out with it in the Funko shop. Here we’ll have it at Toycon with the Toycon sticker,” Lim said.
There are exciting things in store for Funko fans in the country. “I’m happy Funko keeps producing new items and new licenses also. Some of the newest licenses they got are anime like “Solo Leveling,” “Frieren,” “Spy X Family,” said Lim, whose kids are loving Funko’s anime releases.
There are, of course, the FFP events that everyone looks forward to, especially their charity events and epic Christmas party. Later this month, there’s also the opening of the first Funko store at the SM Mall of Asia. “Kaming mga collectors are very excited because finally, there’s gonna be an official Funko store here in the Philippines,” Lim said.
It’s also the first official Funko store in Southeast Asia.
Funko, FFP and Lim are masters of surprises. Usually, those lucky enough to attend the Toycon preview event are the first to get their hands on the Toycon exclusive. But not this year. “Our exclusive will only be available at Toycon,” Lim told the crowd at Hobby Stadium. “Here, we have something different.”
The room buzzed with anticipation as boxes were brought to the front and Lim and his team opened them. He grabbed a Funko from the box, raising it so everyone could see. It was a gold version of the Pilipinas Basketball Freddy Funko. There was a chorus of “whoas.”
Lim said, “For everyone who’s here, we have a gold version, limited to 120 pieces.” The room erupted in cheers and applause. The Funko Pops were handed out and everyone got to go home with gold, feeling like a winner.
