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| (From left to right) SIBOL overall head coach Ralph Llabres, Mark Lenon, PESO Executive Director Marlon Marcelo, Gerald Gelacio, Dragon Hart Dajao, Juschie Tan, Chammy Nazarrea, Jhon Mike Tungol, Golden Hart Dajao, PESO project manager Victor Cabuay, Charles Esguerra, Ire Gomez, Jeff Victoriano, PESO Executive Secretary Jack Tamboboy, Manjean Faldas, and PESO secretary-general Joebert Yu. Sibol/POC Media Pool |
TOKONAME, Japan—Sibol settled for another bronze after suffering a lopsided 0-2 loss to mighty China in the semifinals of the Honor of Kings esports event at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Monday at Aichi Sky Expo.
The Filipinos were simply outclassed by a Chinese side that had nearly a decade’s head start in Honor of Kings, a game that originated in China in 2015 before reaching the Philippines in 2024.
Despite the loss, Sibol, which is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, secured the country’s second bronze medal in esports, following the Pokémon UNITE team’s podium finish on Sunday.
Head coach Gerard Gelacio expressed pride and satisfaction with his team’s campaign despite falling short of a spot in the gold-medal match.
“Sobrang proud pa rin ako sa mga players ko kasi nakakuha pa rin kami ng medal and history ‘yun kasi mahirap din yung nakalaban namin sa semis, which is yung top contender na China,” said Gelacio.
“Okay naman kami. Sobrang happy pa rin kami sa na-achieve namin dito sa Asian Games,” he added.
The team, which is also supported by Smart, Cignal, TV5, and Arena Social, finished second in Pool B with a 1-1 record after sweeping Kazakhstan and falling to Malaysia in the group stage.
Meanwhile, Sibol’s Identity V crew suffered identical 0-2 losses to Thailand and Chinese Taipei in Pool A, putting the Filipinos on the brink of elimination.
The Philippines still has a chance to secure the third seed and final quarterfinal berth in the group when it faces Indonesia on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the same venue.
