adidas' 'Basketball Is A Brotherhood' Continues Its Run to the 2008 National Basketball Championship

PORTLAND, Ore., April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- The college basketball season has come down to four teams all looking to win the 2008 College Basketball National Championships. Of those teams still remaining and on their way to San Antonio Texas, three, the Kansas Jayhawks, the Memphis Tigers and the UCLA Bruins, all have one thing in common: they are part of a group of teams that believe in and live by the adidas "Basketball Is a Brotherhood" code.

"Basketball Is a Brotherhood" is the celebration of a group of players brought together to form a single, unstoppable team. The sole objective is to win through honoring the core values of the game: they lead by example; they trust each other; they make the extra pass, they fight for their fellow brother every night. The only name on the jersey they care about is the one across the front. In the "Brotherhood," it's "We not Me." The "Brotherhood" only happens when forces combine and egos die. Only through team and through a "Brotherhood" can they achieve the impossible, a National Championship.

"The values and ideas that adidas' Basketball Is a Brotherhood talks about are what we believe are the core basis for our run to this year's Final Four," stated Bill Self, Kansas Jayhawks Head Basketball Coach. "The unselfish nature of our players and the way that they have put aside their own stats for the betterment of the team truly does show what can be achieved through the team first mentality."

adidas' mission has always been to help today's athletes achieve their best on the court and be the leading team performance provider; this basketball season is no different. adidas has equipped all the teams in the "Brotherhood," 20 of the 64 teams in the initial NCAA tournament field including three of the final four with a variety of the industry's leading footwear and apparel products. On the feet of 36 of the 48 players still playing Division I college basketball will be a variety of great adidas performance basketball shoes, highlighted by the adidas Team Signature Pro Model and adidas Team Signature Lightspeed. The adidas Team Signature products mark the best adidas Basketball has to offer. The same shoes you will see on court this weekend are currently available to fans at a variety of national retail locations and at http://www.shop.adidas.com.

Kansas, Memphis and UCLA are all storied programs with long standing traditional uniforms, but when you look closer, those uniforms have changed with the help of adidas. Each uniform is made utilizing the leading adidas ClimaLite technology. adidas ClimaLite is a moisture managing fabric technology that pulls sweat away from the skin to the outer fabric face for quick evaporation, thus enhancing the body's natural temperature regulation and keeping athletes dry and comfortable. During a time of the year when you need your players to be ready to go, the adidas ClimaLite technology helps to keep them fresh and at the top of their game for 40 minutes.

Under many of the uniforms will be the industry leading compression apparel, adidas Tech Fit PowerWeb and adidas Tech Fit Padded. adidas Tech Fit is not your typical compression wear, all adidas Tech Fit contains strategically placed "Power Bands" that keep the athletes' muscles in place, helping to reduce muscle fatigue, while conserving energy during play, again helping the athlete to achieve their peak performance.

When teaming up the ideals of adidas' "Basketball Is a Brotherhood" and the industry's leading products, it is no wonder why three out of four of this year's Final Four teams chose to partner with adidas.

Visit http://www.adidasbasketball.com to see coaches' blogs, product profiles and various other interactive items.

     For more information contact:

     Travis Gonzolez -                   Matt Dianella -
     adidas Public Relations             adidas / Hill & Knowlton
     (c) 503.504.8602                    (c) 310.874.8299
     travis.gonzolez@adidas.com          matt.dianella@hillandknowlton.com