32nd SEA Games: Sibol Pilipinas sweeps Malaysia, takes PH's third MLBB title
2023-May-15 09:12
2023-Dec-22 20:34
Sibol Pilipinas conquered anew the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competition in Southeast Asian Games 2023. PHOTO: SIBOL/FACEBOOK
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Since its inception in the Manila Southeast Asian Games 2019, only one nation has dominated Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
For the third straight time, the MLBB gold remained in the backyard of the said to be strongest in the SEA region – no other than the Philippines.
The Filipino side represented by Bren Esports and ONIC Philippines avenged its group stage defeat against Malaysia by dominating the latter, 3-0, in their best-of-five championship series here at NABA Theater on Sunday afternoon, May 14.
PH blowouts hapless Malaysia
Backed by a supportive Filipino crowd, the Philippines composed of Angelo "Pheww" Arcangel, David "FlapTzy" Canon, Kyle Angelo "KyleTzy" Sayson, Marco "Super Marco" Requitano, Rowgien Stimpson "Owgwen" Unigo, and Nowee "Ryota" Macasa showed no mercy since Game One en route to relegating the Malaysians to second place.
Despite the score being one-sided, Malaysia didn't lose the gold without giving a fight, scaring the Filipinos in the first two games at some point. However, that wasn't enough.
Canon hampered Malaysian gold laner Muhammad Danial "CikuGais" bin Mohamad Fuad in the early stages of Game One, so was Unigo's Khufra preventing him from achieving his usual laning excellence.
Sibol might have built a 10,000-gold advantage and gone for an easy win; unfortunately, they struggled to deliver the final blow as it took them 24 minutes to prevail against a comeback-looking Malaysia.
Discipline in decision-making down the stretch of Game One proved to be the key for the Filipinos.
Game Two almost had an identical storyline as the Philippines weathered the storm for a 2-0 lead. Requitiano's decisive plays in the clutch helped Sibol to put the finishing touches.
In Game Three, the Philippines dominantly sealed their victory as Owgwen's Atlas and company stifled Malaysia in every space, leaving the latter no time to rest and regroup.
Sibol scored a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Myanmar to secure their spot in the finale, while Malaysia triumphed against the host Cambodia in the same fashion.
In the battle for bronze, the Burmese squad blanked the Cambodians, 2-0, in their best-of-three series to finish third.