Fresh from making waves on the world stage, SIBOL Pokémon UNITE are banking on their international experience as they seek to deliver a breakthrough for Philippine esports at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
The team is composed of the Team Nemesis crew that exceeded expectations at the recent Pokémon UNITE World Championship in San Francisco, USA. It finished joint ninth to 16th, proving that it can stand toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the world.
Kim Rey Salazar, Michael Vaughn Ocio, Ducke Leoncio, Lawrence Gatmaitan, Robert Mempin, and Lance David make up the roster, with Albert Camp serving as head coach.
The squad heads into the Asian Games as one of the tournament’s dark horses, hoping to make an even deeper run in Aichi-Nagoya.
“Sa performance namin last month sa World Championship, kami ata ang pinaghahandaan nilang lahat. Pero hindi ako overconfident. Ayaw kong i-underestimate ang kalaban at patuloy kami sa mga surprise draft at sisiguraduhin namin na nasa right state of mind kami,” said Camp.
Sibol, supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, opens its campaign against Kazakhstan at 11:50 AM at Aichi Sky Expo on Friday, Sept. 25. It then faces Chinese Taipei at 9:00 AM and Malaysia at 2:40 PM on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Supported by Smart, Cignal, TV5, and Arena Social, the team hopes to use its familiarity with Malaysia and Chinese Taipei to its advantage while continuing to prepare for Kazakhstan.
“Maganda para sa amin ang bracket namin. Nakalaban na namin ang Chinese Taipei at Malaysia multiple times over the past four years,” Camp said.
Camp is pulling out all the stops to prepare the squad for the fast-paced nature of Pokémon UNITE, sharpening its strategies and making the necessary adjustments for every possible scenario.
“Sa Pokémon UNITE game, mabilis mabaliktad ang laro. So ang expectation namin ay maging handa rin sa mga ipapakitang surprise strategy ng kalaban. For us to achieve this, kailangan naming maging in sync with proper communication and the right state of mind during the games para makuha ang gold,” said Camp.
Despite its strong showing in San Francisco, the squad believes it can reach another level in Aichi-Nagoya, with the goal of proving that its World Championship run was no fluke and bringing home the gold medal for Team PH.
“Ang main goal is for the gold. Hindi kami tumitigil magkaroon ng various strategies araw-araw during practice. Gusto naming patunayan na kasama kami sa strongest team ng Asia.”
