National esports team Sibol, with its 55 athletes, is aiming for podium finishes in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), which will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in May 2022.
In a press conference broadcasted live via its official Facebook page, Team Sibol team manager Leo Andrew "Jab" Escutin said they anticipate all teams to finish at the top.
"These athletes that we have right now are the number one teams in their respective field. Our goal this year is podium finishes," said Escutin.
The esports event in the 2022 SEA Games includes 10 events across 8 titles (3 PC games and 5 mobile games). The medal events for PC titles are League of Legends (LoL), CrossFire (CF), and FIFA Online 4. Meanwhile, the mobile games are Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), LOL Wild Rift, Arena of Valor (AoV), PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile, and Garena Free Fire. The LOL Wild Rift event is divided into two divisions: men and women. The PUBG Mobile tournament was split into individual and team categories.
In SEA Games 2019, the Sibol squad bagged a total of three gold medals, one silver and a bronze. With the previous 50 percent gold medal ratio, head coach Ralph Andrei "Coach Leathergoods" Llabres believes that Filipino esports players will perform even better this time around despite their lack of exposure to some of the titles they will participate in.
"From 50 percent last SEA games, I will put my name on the line. Realistically speaking, I am expecting 70% at least. We will perform better," noted Llabres.
Unlike the SEA Games 2019, Sibol's rosters for SEA Games 2022 were chosen through team-based qualifiers. There will be a total of 64 delegates, including 55 athletes and nine coaches.
Representatives of Team Sibol are currently training at the Bren Esports Facility in Makati.
Image via Sibol
