The Basketball World Cup for 2019 starts in China on the 31st August and last week the launch of the World Cup ball was announced. The new Official Game ball will be the Molten B7G5000 and will be manufactured from premium leather. The design is quite striking as shown below.
The game ball will be available to order shortly and will also include a replica ball - BG3800 also available in size 7 and constructed with Synthetic leather. Both are FIBA official approved balls and are manufactured in Thailand. Other models available will be replica balls in size 5 and 7 under the Molten code BG2000 and a size 1 ball - BG200, both of the balls will be constructed with rubber rather than leather. We understand that there may also be other licensed rubber models available in size 7 (Molten BC1600) but might not reach all countries. The graphics are not just for decoration and have significant meaning. The dragon design symbolizes the basketball players drive to compete with the fundamental elements of basketball present within the henna style graphics - Heart, Basket, Ball and Court. These are incorporated within the body of the dragon. The official game ball also changes the way the graphic is applied. The old model BGL balls has a transfer logo printed on the ball but the new BG5000 ball has the logo branded onto the ball making the grip less slippery. The print area was also reduced by 25% too. Another improvement was the foam concentration being increased by 35% and the EVA foam backing layer has been newly applied. making the ball softer and easier to control.
