SIBOL Naraka: Bladepoint closed its 20th Asian Games campaign on a high note, escaping Hong Kong, 2-1, to cap a challenging group-stage run on Wednesday at the Aichi Sky Expo in Japan.
The Philippines finished Pool B with a 1-2 record, placing third in a competitive group that also featured Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong. The result left SIBOL outside the top two spots needed to advance to the semifinals.
Backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, SIBOL opened the group stage with losses to Chinese Taipei and Vietnam, ending its hopes of reaching the semifinals.
Still, the Filipinos refused to go quietly, battling Hong Kong down to the wire as they looked to finish their Asian Games campaign on a winning note.
Team captain Joaquin Paclibar set the tone in Game 1 (solo), delivering a commanding performance and taking down Mingjie Wang twice to put SIBOL ahead, 1-0, in the best-of-three series.
The trio of Richard Espejo, Von Teñoso, and Kenneth Perez could not duplicate their skipper’s strong start in Game 2, falling to Fanny Fung Ching Wong, Yu Hin Wong, and Kevin Lam as Hong Kong forced a deciding game.
With support from Smart, Cignal, TV5, and Arena Social, SIBOL regrouped for the decider and held off Hong Kong to close its campaign with a victory.
Although the Filipinos fell short of the semifinals, Paclibar viewed their Asian Games stint as a valuable learning experience, particularly after showing that Filipino players can compete against some of the best in the international scene.
“For this group stage, we’re confident that we executed what we practiced. But the teams at this level are really good, and they adapt very quickly. That’s something we still need to improve on,” Paclibar said.
“Qualifying through Singapore and then making it to Japan gave us proof that there are players from the Philippines who can compete at a high level. The hours we’ve put in throughout our growth have all led to this moment, and we’re very grateful,” he added.
SIBOL will next turn its attention to Karl Gonzalvo’s Puyo Puyo Champions campaign on Thursday. Gonzalvo is set to face Japan at 9:20 a.m., Kazakhstan at 10 a.m., South Korea at 10:40 a.m., and Hong Kong at 11:20 a.m. in Pool A.
