MANILA — Sibol general manager Jab Escutin has high hopes for the country's esports representatives in the upcoming 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
While acknowledging that Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is the Philippines' best shot of a golden finish, Escutin also mentioned some events where Sibol can play the role of a dark horse.
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The Philippines will field Sibol rosters for MLBB, Identity V, Naraka: Bladepoint, Honor of Kings, Puyo Puyo Champions and Pokemon Unite.
"Ang target always for us is podium finishes for all of the games that we field. So, we're very optimistic about our chances. Hopefully, we hit all our goals," Escutin told ABS-CBN News during the ceremonial send-off for Asiad athletes on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
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"Siyempre, obviously, it's going to be our MLBB team [with the highest expectations]. Pero there are surprising games in there that we expect some dark horses to come in. Like, let's say, HOK [Honor of Kings]. We're also optimistic about the results for our Pokémon Unite team," he added.
"So, all of the six teams, we're expecting at least good results or a podium finish."
Esports competitions in the Asiad will kick off next week Tuesday, September 22.