SENTOSA, Singapore — The SIBOL Mobile Legends: Bang Bang national team opened its 2026 Asian Games Qualifiers campaign in dominant fashion, sweeping host Malaysia 2-0 on Thursday at the Sentosa Convention Center here.
The convincing victory immediately puts the Philippines in a strong position in the group stage, where only five Southeast Asian teams will advance to the main stage of the regional meet.
Head coach Allec “SN4P” Alvarado welcomed the strong start but emphasized that the team is still adjusting to the tournament meta.
“Maganda naman yung pinakita ng team. Good warm-up match against one of the top teams, din dito. Nag-a-adjust pa kami sa mga meta at sana sunod-sunod yung panalo at momentum ng team moving forward,” said Alvarado.
“Same sa MPL PH, pag panalo yung first, momentum pa rin siya. At malaking tulong ‘yan,” he added.
SIBOL wasted little time asserting its dominance in Game 1, with Karl Nepomuceno setting the tone through a pinpoint Heavy Spin that secured a crucial double kill and sparked a 4-for-1 exchange. The Filipinos quickly converted the advantage into the fourth-minute Turtle objective.
From there, the Philippine squad took full control of the map. It conceded just a single death for the rest of the game before closing it out with a decisive 5-for-0 wipe during a base turret siege in the 10th minute.
Alston Pabico led the charge with a flawless performance of three kills and 11 assists without a death. Meanwhile, debuting gold laner Dave Viana Jr. made an immediate impact with three kills and four assists in his first international outing for the national team.
Game 2 followed a similar script, with SIBOL dominating the early game behind Sanford Vinuya’s solo kill on Malaysia’s Muhammad Razif, capping a 5-1 kill lead by the fourth minute.
Malaysia briefly threatened to shift momentum during the ninth-minute Lord fight after shutting down Karl Nepomuceno. However, SIBOL responded with three quick kills before securing the crucial objective.
With the Lord buff in hand, SIBOL sealed the series with a clinical 5-for-2 wipe during an 11th-minute base turret siege, highlighted by Alston Pabico’s game-sealing double kill.
The sweep gives SIBOL valuable momentum in its Asian Games qualification campaign as the Filipinos look to carry their strong form into tougher matches ahead tomorrow.
