One of the most loved Kobes ever made for one country is coming back. Sneaker News has official images of the Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro "Philippines" (style IO6262-600), shown in grade school sizing. It's reported for Holiday 2026 at $190 for adults and $120 for grade school. Nike hasn't locked in an exact date yet, so treat timing as TBA and we'll update this post when it's confirmed.
The backstory is the good part. Kobe visited the Philippines six times during his career for youth clinics and events, and the country loved him right back. The original Kobe 9 EM "Philippines" landed in 2014 and became one of the hardest Kobes of its era to get, there and everywhere else. The Protro sticks close to it: red, white and blue from the Philippine flag, multicolor forefoot detailing inspired by jeepneys (the famously over-painted public buses) and the country's painted outdoor courts, and a semi-translucent outsole with a tsinelas, a Filipino flip-flop, showing through the rubber.
Our take: hiding a flip-flop under a performance basketball shoe is the most Kobe-meets-Manila detail possible, and it still makes us smile twelve years later. This pair has real meaning behind it instead of just a nice color story, so expect it to move fast once the date drops. If you missed the 2014 pair and then watched resale prices climb, this is your second chance. Don't make us say "we told you so."
Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro "Philippines" (IO6262-600)
Price: $190 adult, $120 grade school
Release: reported Holiday 2026, exact date TBA
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Report and images via Sneaker News.
