PESO calls Sibol’s Asiad campaign a success

The Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) considers Sibol’s campaign in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 a success, with the country making a stronger push on the continental stage and its six-team delegation delivering a better showing than in the previous edition.

After coming home empty-handed from the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where the country competed in six esports events, Sibol finally broke through in Japan, claiming two bronze medals through its Honor of Kings and Pokémon UNITE squads.

Beyond the medals, Sibol also turned heads in events where the Philippines entered with lower expectations, reaching the quarterfinals of Puyo Puyo Champions and Identity V while narrowly missing out on a spot in the top four of Naraka: Bladepoint.

“So, if you look at the big picture of the campaign, the first one was very successful. The qualifiers itself, six out of seven games where we were able to qualify,” said PESO executive director Marlon “Lon” Marcelo.

“Then, moving forward, out of the six, two were actually medals. Nag-bore ng medals, which is yung Pokémon and HOK. So, if you think about it, for me, it’s still a success,” he added.

The biggest setback came in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, where Sibol’s gold-medal hopes ended in the quarterfinals despite entering the tournament as one of the favorites.

Still, Marcelo believes the early exit does not overshadow what the country’s national esports team, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, accomplished across its six events, maintaining that the overall campaign remains a success.

“It so happened lang na the MLBB part was so heartbreaking and heart-wrenching kasi nandun lahat ng expectations, eh. But if you treat it as equal, the medals that we actually achieved were more than enough for us,” said Marcelo.

“So, I still consider it a success. Even kahit diyan sa Puyo Puyo, umabot sa quarters; umabot yung Naraka sa quarters. That was a result of yung mga efficiencies na ginawa natin, yung bootcamp,” he added.

Part of that success, Marcelo said, came from the preparation PESO was able to provide the delegation, including a bootcamp in Tokyo made possible by a grant from Senator Bong Go through the PSC.

The funding allowed Sibol’s teams to train and settle in Japan before making the trip to Nagoya for the Games, giving them valuable time to adjust to the environment and prepare for their respective competitions.

“Number one kasi, and credit sa PESO executives, to be fair, we’ve done our homework. To give an idea, mayroon talaga tayong nakuha na mga grants that actually boosted our resources,” said Marcelo.

“So for one, ‘yung bootcamp, we were actually able to get it through a grant from Senator Bong Go and PSC. So nag-collaborate si Senator Bong Go and the Philippine Sports Commission to actually get that bootcamp running,” he added.

Behind the scenes, PESO also had to keep a sprawling operation moving, with some members assisting the teams during the Tokyo bootcamp while others were already in Nagoya overseeing the delegation’s arrival, competition schedules, and other day-to-day needs.

With six teams working on different timetables and moving between two cities, Marcelo said there were plenty of logistical challenges to manage, but the organization was able to keep everything on track.

“Ang daming moving parts. Happy to say, naayos lahat ng PESO ’yun in a short amount of time. Of course, we thank our partners natin sa government, ‘yung PSC, POC, si Senator Bong Go, and of course, our partners in the private sector, Smart, Arena Social, TV5, Cignal,” he said.

“Nagtulungan talaga lahat. ’Yun ang maganda sa sports, eh, ’no? It brings together the best of everyone. Happy to say na nakakataba ng puso na ang daming tumulong para sa Asian Games dream.”

With its Asian Games campaign now in the books, Marcelo said PESO can carry the lessons from the experience into its next international campaigns, using what it learned from the preparation and logistics to further strengthen the Sibol program.

The next test will come soon, with the Philippines set to compete in the China-ASEAN Esports Competition later this year.