NANNING, CHINA – SIBOL’s all-female Mobile Legends: Bang Bang squad is more than ready to take a huge leap as their China-ASEAN Esports Competition 2024 campaign kicks off this Friday.
Bannered by the Omega Empress team that recently triumphed in the female division of the Mobile Legends event at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, SIBOL will compete in the two-day, 11-team tournament, which also features several national teams composed of male players.
This marks the squad’s debut in a major international open tournament.
Aside from aiming to add another trophy to the national team’s already crowded collection, team captain Mery “Meraaay” Vivero and the rest of SIBOL ML:BB is entering the tournament with extra motivation—to further break gender barriers and prove that they can compete against male teams.
“Gusto ko i-prove sa lahat na ‘di porke babae, hanggang female tournaments lang kami,” Vivero told Tiebreaker Times.
“Gusto namin i-prove sa lahat na kaya naming makasabay sa mga lalaki and ‘di po nila dapat nila minamaliit ‘yung mga kakayahan naming babae kasi for sure, kaya po namin makasabay sa mga lalaki,” she added.
Vivero added that their previous experience in the MDL Philippines Season 4 regional qualifiers, where they competed against amateur male squads, will play a key role in their upcoming journey in the China-ASEAN tilt.
“Siguro po ‘di na masyadong pressure sa’min kasi may experience na kami sa ibang tournament na may male teams din kaming nakakalaban,” said the Cebuana roamer.
“Ngayon, gusto naming makita kung makakasabay na ba talaga kami sa mga lalaki saka looking forward na matalo namin sila,” she added.
With ZOL Esports and Falcons AP Bren unavailable due to the ongoing MPL calendar, the Philippine Esports Organization (PESO) tapped the Omega Empress for the two-day tournament.
When asked why the all-female squad was chosen to represent the country in the tournament, SIBOL overall head coach Ralph Llabres firmly believes that the team earned the spot following their recent achievements on the international stage.
“Number one because they earned the slot. Number two, we know na isang open tournament ito na may mga male teams and female teams. Naging choice namin si Omega hindi lang dahil sa unfortunately hindi available ‘yung dalawang teams natin,” said Llabres.
“Magbi-buildup ‘to, mas mare-ready sila for future tournaments nila. I think it’s gonna be worth it for us as well, at least for our country. When I speak naman kasi, it’s not that I speak for Omega, pero for the national team,” he added.
Llabres also said that it made sense for PESO to enlist the services of the Omega Empress since they were already preparing for the Mobile Legends event of the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games and the IESF Southeast Asia qualifiers, which both got canceled.
“We didn’t have time na, honestly speaking, para mag-prepare pa ng bago. Si IESF got canceled two or three weeks back eh. ‘Yung schedule, kapag nag-qualifiers tayo, one week is just for registrations alone. The next week would be for the tournament proper and the week after that would be [the] combine,” said the veteran esports official.
“Also, we really want to give them an opportunity para mas ma-expose sila sa mga ibang tournaments pa kasi I think this is a good investment for us na in the future, lahat ng female tournaments natin [aangat ‘yung level] dahil sa ganitong experiences for them.”
Vivero and company are determined to make the most of this prestigious opportunity and aim for nothing less than a gold medal.
“Ang goal po namin is manalo this upcoming tournament kaya looking forward po kami na mailabas po namin ‘yung full potential namin sa tournament na ‘to.
SIBOL ML:BB was pooled in Group A along with Cambodia, which will be represented by CFU Gaming, and home team China.
The team is composed of EWC MVP Sheen “Shinoa” Perez, Gwyneth “Ayanami” Diagon, Kaye “Keishi” Alpuerto, Rica Fatima “Amoree” Amores, and Meeray.
Lhoureian “Rianne” Alcaraz of ZOL Esports will serve as the team’s sixth man, while Salman “King Salman” Macarambon will coach the squad.
