AICHI — Sibol’s Pokémon UNITE team punched its ticket to the semifinals and secured at least a bronze medal after sweeping Hong Kong in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, 2-0, at Aichi Sky Expo here on Sunday.
The Philippines will now battle Group B top seed Indonesia in the semifinals later Sunday, with a spot in the gold-medal match at stake.
Sibol, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, wasted little time making its presence felt, taking control from the opening minutes as Robert Mempin’s Darkrai powered the Philippines to a commanding 576-80 victory in Game 1.
Mempin racked up 230 points, four knockouts, and four assists to lead the Philippines with an 87 performance rating, while Lawrence Gatmaitan’s Crustle added 211 points, three knockouts, and six assists.
Hong Kong refused to go quietly in Game 2, but Sibol, backed by Smart, Cignal, TV5, and Arena Plus, kept its foot on the gas and once again pulled away, closing out the series with a 576-207 victory.
This time, Ducke Leoncio took the spotlight.
Leoncio’s Mew unleashed 71,672 damage as the Filipinos relentlessly broke through Hong Kong’s defenses, finishing with 129 points, four knockouts, and five assists to steer Sibol into the semifinals.
More importantly, the victory assured the Philippines of its first-ever esports medal in the Asian Games.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Sibol, which began its campaign with a forfeiture against Kazakhstan following a uniform mishap.
Rather than let the setback derail its run, the Philippines responded with victories over Chinese Taipei and Malaysia to finish atop Pool A at 2-1.
