Philippines national esports team explained

Philippines
Full Name:Philippines national esports team
Nicknames:Team Sibol
Sport:Esports
Founded:2017
Colors: Blue
Red
Yellow
White
Owntitle:National association
Owner:Philippine Esports Organization
Main Sponsor:Smart Communications
Blank Label:Games

The Philippines national esports team represents the Philippines in international esports tournaments. It is organized under the Philippine Esports Organization.

History

A national esports team representing the Philippines took part in the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan, where the esports was held as a demonstration event. The Philippines did not have any esports representatives at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, where it was likewise held as a demonstration event.

When the Philippines hosted the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, it organized esports as a medal sport.[1] A national esports team, under the moniker "Sibol," was formalized by the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Esports Union (PSEU) for the purpose of the Philippines' participation in the regional games as hosts.[2] [3] [4] The PSEU consists of officials of the National Electronic Sports Federation of the Philippines (NESFP) and the Esports National Association of the Philippines (ESNAP).[5] Sibol fielded teams in all six events.[6]

In 2020, the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) was recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) as the national sports association for esports in the Philippines. This recognition was disputed by the NESFP, which was involved in the PSEU. The other involved organization, ESNAP, already merged with PESO.[5]

Sibol took part again in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, where esports returned as a medal event.[7] [8] It intends to compete in all titles at the regional games.[9] A national selection tournaments were held for each title, wherein the winning team from each selection would form the core of the Sibol lineup for their respective event.[10] The qualifiers ended on February 28, 2022, and a total of 55 esports athletes represented the country.[11] [12] [13] The campaign ended with two gold and two silver medals; which was considered as a success by PESO.[8]

The team took part in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games[14] and the 2023 ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia.[15]

They made their Asian Games debut in the 2022 edition held in Hangzhou in September 2023 where esports was held as a regular event for the first time. Sibol did not win any medal.[16]

Team image

The Philippine esports team is also known as Team Sibol (stylized as SIBOL). The name "sibol" comes from the Filipino word for growth. The team logo is in red, yellow, and blue. The shape of the logo forms the abbreviation for the country, "PHI," in a form that could represent a leaf or a flame.[4]

Titles

The Philippine esports team has fielded teams and/or players for the following titles.

Competitive record

Asian Games

Host/YearTotal
Total
align=left 20220000
Total 0 0 0 0

Southeast Asian Games

Host/YearTotal
Total
align=left 20193115
20212204
20232136
Total 7 4 4 15

Notes and References

  1. News: Esports will be a medal event in the 2019 SEA Games . https://web.archive.org/web/20181130050247/https://www.foxsportsasia.com/esports/986197/esports-will-be-a-medal-event-in-the-2019-sea-games/. 15 December 2018 . Fox Sports Asia . 30 November 2018. 28 November 2018.
  2. News: Sibol named PH's esports team for SEA Games . 27 December 2021 . ESPN.com . 29 July 2019 . en.
  3. News: Final Sibol roster for SEA Games revealed by PSEU . 27 December 2021 . ESPN.com . 16 September 2019 . en.
  4. News: Sibol to Represent the Philippines in Esports at SEA Games 2019 . 27 December 2021 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . 29 July 2019 . en.
  5. News: PeSO asserts it went through process in getting POC accreditation . 27 December 2021 . BusinessWorld . 14 September 2020.
  6. News: Team Sibol bullish of chances as SEAG esports events begin . 27 December 2021 . BusinessWorld . 4 December 2019.
  7. News: Pineda . Carlos . SIBOL returns, opens tryouts for MLBB, CrossFire, Wild Rift . 27 December 2021 . Sports Interactive Network Philippines . 27 December 2021.
  8. News: Lojo . Michelle . Philippine esports body upbeat on future after successful SEA Games bid . 1 June 2022 . The Philippine Star . 1 June 2022.
  9. News: Magallon . Reynald . Sibol to compete in Arena of Valor, FIFA Online . 27 January 2022 . Manila Bulletin . 25 January 2022.
  10. News: Lojo . Michelle . Four more teams join SEA Games-bound Sibol . 15 February 2022 . The Philippine Star . 14 February 2022.
  11. Web site: Coloma . Angela . esports: In 2nd SEA Games campaign, Sibol aspires for Gilas recognition . March 17, 2022 . ABS-CBN News.
  12. Web site: Micaller . Bea . Philippine national esports team Sibol targets podium finishes in SEA Games . 2022-03-17 . GMA News Online . en.
  13. Web site: PinoyTechSaga . All representatives of PH team Sibol for SEA Games 2022 . 2022-03-17 . PinoyTechSaga Philippines Tech News and Game Reviews Blog.
  14. News: Sibol back with national team selection for 2023 SEAG . 22 January 2023 . Manila Bulletin . 6 January 2023.
  15. News: Pineda . Carlos . Philippines secures 1st place finish in MLBB ASEAN Para Games . 7 June 2023 . Sports Interactive Network Philippines . 5 June 2023 . en.
  16. News: Asian Games: National esports team Sibol ends run without medal . 10 October 2023 . ABS-CBN News . 30 September 2023.