It looks like the SIBOL Mobile Legends: Bang Bang men’s national team will have to work double considering their grueling schedule ahead of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Multiple sources told Tiebreaker Times that the MPL Philippines Season 11 playoffs will run from May 5 to 7 while the ML:BB event in the SEA Games will start on May 9 until 15. SIBOL is expected to fly to Cambodia between the playoffs and the SEA Games opening.
This development explains the recent comments made by ML:BB men’s national team head coach Francis “Duckey” Glindro, who expressed some concerns about the team’s upcoming schedule.
“Meron na actually schedule yung paglipad namin. I wouldn’t say it here because gusto kong Sibol yung mag-announce. It’s going to be really, really clutch,” Duckey said in an interview with the press during the MPL Philippines Season 11 Week Four.
Bren Esports, the team tasked to defend the Philippines’ back-to-back crowns in ML:BB, is expected to go deep in the MPL Philippines playoffs after overtaking reigning world champion ECHO in the number one spot to conclude the first half of the regular season.
The former MPL Philippines champion squad swept their way into a six-gaming winning streak that put them at the top of the standings with a league-best 18 points off a 6-1 win-loss record.
The tight schedule forced Bren Esports to simultaneously prepare for their possible campaign in the MPL Philippines playoffs and the country’s title defense in the biennial meet. The team is expected to fully ramp up their SIBOL training sessions next week.
“So we have to work, I could say, starting next month. The entire month, actually pwede na rin namin i-start by next week. Then it would be very very clutch, looking at the schedule.”
Last year, Blacklist International had less than four months to prepare for the SEA Games with Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario and Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna skipping the MPL Philippines Season Nine to focus on the national team’s campaign.
It also helped that they teamed up with non-MPL players in Howard “Owl” Gonzales, Dominic “Dominic” Soto, and Russel “Eyon” Usi as it allowed them to start their preparations early.
Salic “Hadji” Imam and the coaching staff consisting of Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza, Dexter “DEX STAR” Alaba, and Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani were the only ones who did double duty at the time.
