Sibol eyes Asiad breakthrough with world-tested Pokémon UNITE team

Fresh from making waves on the world stage, the Sibol Pokémon UNITE team is banking on its international experience as it seeks to give the PH esports its breakthrough in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

The team, composed of the Team Nemesis crew that exceeded expectations at the recent Pokémon UNITE World Championship in San Francisco, USA, finished joint ninth-to-16th, proving it can stand toe-to-toe with some of the world’s best. 

Kim Rey Salazar, Michael Vaughn Ocio, Ducke Leoncio, Lawrence Gatmaitan, Robert Mempin, and Lance David make up the roster, with Albert Camp serving as head coach.

The crew heads into the Asian Games as one of the tournament’s dark horses, hoping to make an even deeper run in Aichi-Nagoya.

“Sa performance namin last month sa World Championship, kami ata ang pinaghahandaan nilang lahat. Pero hindi ako overconfident. Ayaw ko i-underestimate ang kalaban at patuloy kami sa mga surprise draft at sisiguraduhin namin na nasa right state of mind kami,” said Camp.

Sibol, supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, opens its campaign against Kazakhstan at 11:50 a.m. at Aichi Sky Expo on Friday, Sept. 25 before facing Chinese Taipei at 9 a.m. and Malaysia at 2:40 p.m. both on Saturday, Sept.26.

Supported by Smart, Cignal, TV5 and Arena Social, the team is hoping to use its familiarity against Malaysia and Chinese Taipei as an advantage while it continues to prepare for Kazakhstan.

“Maganda para sa amin ang bracket namin. Nakalaban na namin ang Chinese Taipei at Malaysia multiple times over the past four years,” Camp said.

Camp is pulling out all the stops to prepare the squad for the fast-paced nature of Pokémon UNITE, sharpening its strategies and making the necessary adjustments for every possible scenario.

“Sa Pokémon UNITE game, mabilis mabaliktad ang laro. So ang expectation namin ay maging handa din sa mga ipapakitang surprise strategy ng kalaban. For us to achieve this, kailangan namin maging in-sync with proper communication and right state of mind during the games para makuha ang gold,” said Camp.

Despite the strong showing in San Francisco, the squad believes it can reach another level in Aichi-Nagoya with the goals of proving its World Championship run was no fluke and winning the gold medal for Team PH.

“Ang main goal is for the gold. Hindi kami tumitigil magkaroon ng various strategy araw-araw during practice. Gusto namin pang patunayan na kasama kami sa strongest team ng Asia.”