Photo from Sibol/Facebook
Sibol Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Men and Women will gun for a historic double gold at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, as they clinch spots in the gold medal matches of their respective divisions, scheduled for Wednesday, December 17.
The men's national team, composed of the members of the world champion team Team Liquid Philippines, is the heavy favorite, after not dropping a single game in their five matches in the preliminaries and a dominant 3-1 victory over Indonesia in the semifinals.
They are targeting a fourth straight gold medal in the regional sporting meet.
“Very happy. It shows na ‘yung hard work na ipinapakita ng mga atleta natin is consistent over the years. And we are still on the right path sa mga ginagawa natin,” said Sibol general manager Jab Escutin.
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“We are still not done. We’re going for the gold medal match. We are very optimistic and we are confident because we did the hard work. And we will keep doing it until we finish,” he stressed.
All eyes will be on Sibol MLBB jungler Karl Nepomuceno, who is looking to win his second SEA Games’ gold after first claiming one as part of the national team that began the PH dominance in the biennial meet back in 2019.
Nepomuceno, so far, is the most decorated MLBB player, having won five MPL Philippines titles, two M-series World Championships, and a Mid-Season Cup crown.
Malaysia, however, is no pushover, having also advanced to the gold-medal round of the MLBB competition in the 2023 edition of the Games in Cambodia.
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In that contest, however, the Malaysians were swept by the Filipinos, although that Sibol team was composed of an entirely different set of players.
Meanwhile, the women's team hopes to redeem itself after a silver medal finish in the 2023 Cambodia Games.
They reached the finals after a clean 3-0 group stage performance, and a 3-1 win over 2023 tormentor Indonesia.