It has been more than a year since Brian “Panda” Lim led the Sibol Mobile Legends team to the top of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
And if the opportunity to don the national colors was given to him again, the Korean coach is more than willing to take on the challenge.
Speaking in Tiebreaker Vodcasts’ Beyond the Meta, presented by SMART Sports, the Laus Playbook Esports coach revealed his dream team for the upcoming SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
According to Panda, if he was given the chance to coach the national team once again, he would retain previous starters and now world champions Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno and Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel in his squad.
Meanwhile, Aura PH’s Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales will be playing in the gold lane while ONIC PH’s Gerald “Dlar” Trinchera will man the opposite.
Completing Panda’s main five is Execration star tank Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog.
For the reserves, Panda said that he would be bringing in versatile players who can play multiple positions to fill the spot.
This is where BREN Esports’ CJ “Ribo” Ribo — the winningest player in the scene — comes in. Meanwhile, Blacklist International’s Edward “Edward” Dapapdap, who previously played support before transferring to the side lane, as the final player of Panda’s seven-man squad.
“I would say yung gold lane, si Bennyqt. The tanks is Ch4knu, yung EXP lane si Dlar, yung core siyempre KarlTzy. Then support… Siguro si Pheww,” Panda shared.
“The sixth and seventh men, the way how I would choose them is [if] they can play any role. So si Ribo kasi he’s a well-known player who plays multiple roles eh. Then siguro si Edward because he played support before.”
Though he’s more than happy to do it again, Panda feels that the job might consider some of the merits other coaches have received throughout the past year.
And that is why he believes that BREN Esports coach Francis “Duckeyyy” Glindro, who won the past MPL-Philippines season and the M2 World Championship, exactly fits the billing.
“Kasi Sibol’s staff is usually invited by achievements. Undeniably, si Coach Duckeyyy he has the chance to lead the team,” the MPL-Philippines champion coach said.
Panda, though, isn’t closing his doors on a possible return, as he vowed to help the team in any capacity.
And by any, he literally means any.
“Parang feeling ko satisfied na ako kahit waterboy lang ako sa Sibol eh, then so Coach Duckeyyy ha, waterboy lang ako I will be masipag.”
