Philippine national esports team Sibol targets podium finishes in SEA Games

Sibol, the country's national esports team, is not about to temper expectations as it sends 64 delegates—55 athletes and nine coaches—to the 31st Southeast Asian Games to be held this May in Vietnam.

Team Sibol team manager Leo Escutin said they are anticipating for all teams to finish at the top.

After all, the Sibol squad had a great medal haul in the previous edition of the regional biennial meet, where they bagged a total of three gold medals, one silver, and a bronze, hiking the country's overall championship feat.

"These athletes that we have right now are the number one teams in their respective field. Our goal this year is podium finishes," Escutin said in a face-to-face press conference on Thursday hosted by the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO).

"We have a lot of great expectations from them. We are expecting really great results from them."

Sibol is going all out in the SEA Games, participating in all 10 events across League of Legends, FIFA 4, CrossFire, Arena of Valor, Garena Free Fire, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Wild Rift, and PUBG.

This year's lineup of tournaments is a lot bigger compared to the 2019 iteration, where only six medal events were contested.

With this update in the landscape of esports in SEA Games, Sibol said they are ready to live up to the billing.

"We were very different in a way that we have multiple new games included in this SEA games. The only difference is that the number of the athletes we have is continually growing," Escutin said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and chef de mission to SEAG Ramon Fernandez said he likes the chances of Sibol teams to dominate the Games.

"I'm not too familiar honestly, I don't play that much but I've heard so much about esports and I know for a fact that they did very well. I'm really hoping and praying that our 55 athletes will live up to the expectations," Fernandez said.

Sibol is currently training at the Bren Esports Facility in Makati.

—MGP, GMA News