E-GILAS Pilipinas faces an uphill battle as Australia joins Indonesia in the Southeast Asian Conference of the Fiba Esports Open II later this month.
Fiba announced the new edition of the basketball-esports crossover on Friday, with 38 nations now joining the virtual competitions.
The Philippines will defend its Southeast Asian crown on November 14 and 15.
"The first-ever Fiba Esports Open was an important milestone. The growing interest received from our National Federations is additional motivation for FIBA to further develop esports, and we are very enthusiastic for this second edition," said FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.
Representing the country last time out were eight-time ProAm champion Aljon "Shintarou" Cruzin, two-time NBA2K Asia champion Rial "Rial" Polog Jr., 2017 NBA2K Asia champion Custer "Aguila" Galas, APAC NBA2K20 Global Championship representative Clark "Clark" Banzon, and 2018 NBA2K Asia champion Philippe "Izzo" Herrero IV, as well as reserves David John "Alt" Timajo and Rocky "Rak" Brana, with Nielie "Nite" Alparas serving as coach and Richard Brojan as team manager.
E-Gilas Pilipinas swept all five games against Indonesia in the inaugural tourney last June to win the region.
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