NANNING, CHINA – SIBOL’s Honor of Kings overcame a long, exhausting delay to salvage a bronze finish in the China-ASEAN Esports Competition 2024 at the expense of Indonesia, 2-1, at the CAEXPO here on Thursday night.
As workers prepared the venue for the next day’s event, the Philippines powered through subpar playing conditions to secure the win in Game 3, after missing the chance to close out the series in Game 2.
SIBOL had already built a significant lead in the clincher before Indonesia mounted a comeback, leveling the playing field through objectives.
As the match reached a fever pitch, disaster struck when technical difficulties with the accounts being used caused a delay of nearly two hours. Once the organizers resolved the issue, a remake was decided, with the Philippines emerging victorious
Meanwhile, China took care of business and edged Malaysia in the grand finals to clinch the gold medal in the event.
SIBOL actually had a fiery start to the tournament, winning its first two matches against Thailand and Brunei, respectively, for a quick 2-0 start in the group stage before eventually losing to the home team to close the preliminaries.
The Philippines kick-started the tournament on a strong note, taking down Thailand through the 1-2 punch of Audrey “Ajizix” Cedro (Menki) and Eleazar “Azar” Salle (Marco Polo), who was awarded MVP of the match following a flawless performance.
Ajizix and Azar spearheaded the charge, with the Filipinos fending off every Thai comeback attempt on their way to a 14-9, 16-minute victory.
SIBOL continued its strong surge in its second assignment and dispatched Brunei, bannered by former Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and RRQ Hoshi star Mohd “Wizzking” Zulkifli, in just nine minutes.
It was total domination from the side of the Philippines, putting up a lopsided 21-4 win with Dragon Hart “Dragon” Dajao showcasing a solid performance on Zhen.
Unfortunately, the team failed to sustain its form in its most anticipated match as they fell to China after less than 14 minutes of action.
The Philippines actually had a decent start against the Chinese, taking a 6-1 kill advantage inside the first five minutes of the match but the home squad worked its way up before eventually evening the economy through objectives and securing the win.
