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    How painful MPL Season 11 playoff experience molded Team Sibol

    Members of Team Sibol are ready for the challenges ahead
    May 15, 2023
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    PHOTO: VIRESA

    BEFORE THE SEA Games began, there was already a cloud of doubt placed on Team Sibol's MLBB roster.

    A disappointing finish in the MPL PH Season 11 playoffs, where Sibol's main roster consisting of members from the top seeded Bren Esports, ended up finishing 4th in the overall standings, causing the community to wonder if the national team is ready.

    Criticisms were centered on Sibol's ability to mentally adapt to a grueling schedule and some were even concerned if Coach Francis "Duckeyyy" Glindro is up to the task given his decision not to ban Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna's signature Estes in the playoffs.

    Based on how they performed, it can be argued that this version of Sibol isn't as star-studded as that of its 2019 counterpart or considered to be the best team in the country like in the 2021 Hanoi SEA Games.

    Yet despite these lingering concerns, it was the Philippines who bagged the gold medal, a team where members came from the 4th place Bren Esports and one lone Onic PH representative, proving that the Philippines is still the strongest region in Southeast Asia.

    It didn't matter if Indonesia and Malaysia assembled the best rosters, or if Myanmar unveiled the most battle-tested members from Falcon Esports, as Sibol waived the flag with a gold medal.

    For each member of this iteration of Sibol, a gold medal is their redemption arc, with each reflecting on the painful struggles that they endured before the campaign kickoff.

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    A lack of confidence

    Looking back at what transpired in Season 11, Bren Esports became a victim of online harassment from fans.

    With so much negativity, the team's morale dipped, which was something that Kyle "KyleTzy" Sayson emphasized during the press conference.

    "After po noong playoffs, sobrang down-na-down po ako noon, kumbaga sobrang baba na po ng confidence ko and sinabi ko kay Coach Ducks na parang in-open up ko kase parang ang pangit ng laro ko," said the Bren Esports/Sibol jungler.

    He added: "Yung run namin sa playoffs, kumbaga medyo freaky tapos kami lang po ata yung unang-unang top seed na nalaglag, na 4th place."

    While the negativity could be an overwhelming factor in their campaign, KyleTzy and the rest of the crew decided to shrug it off and channel everything as a source of motivation.

    "So marami kaming nakikita na bad comments so ginawa po namin as motivation para hindi po lalong maaapektuhan yung mental health namin tapos para mas lalong maka-focus sa SEA Games."

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    And while the defeat at the hands of Blacklist International and ECHO PH was indeed a painful experience, it was also gave the team an important lesson that would aid then.

    "At yung pagkatalo po namin sa playoffs, lahat po iyun, may natutunan po kaming lahat," reflected Sayson.

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    What Sibol learned from their past experience

    So what did the team learn from Season 11? The decision to not ban the Estes against Blacklist International was a lesson that the team took to heart, something that two-time SEA Games gold medalits, Angelo Kyle "Pheww" Arcangel revealed to the press.

    "Para sa akin, sobrang saya ako kase yung mga naisip namin na pagkakamali namin noong playoffs, na-apply namin dito. Katulad noong pag-respect ban ng mga kailangan namin i-ban, e hindi namin ginawa yan noong playoffs e," said the Sibol captain.

    Of course there was nothing that Pheww could do to turn back the clocks and go back to that time when Blacklist's Estes was free, but they did redeem themselves when they opted to take Min "Naomi" Ko Ko's Natalia out of the equation in their series against Myanmar.

    But it wasn't just about eliminating the strengths of their foes as Sibol learned to play against them.

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    "Ngayon parang yun yung dinidiin namin, kahit iba-iba yung meta ng mga tao kung yun talaga komportable, hindi sila mananalo," reflected Pheww.

    And given the results of their SEA Games campaign, the members of Sibol are in high hopes that they can deliver an impressive outing in the following MPL season.

    "After nitong SEA Games, mas tataas yung confidence namin sa paglalaro next season, mas mailalabas yung buong laro talaga namin, hindi yung mag-iiba pa laro namin kung kailan playoffs sana madala hanggang dulo lagi yung laro namin," said the MPL Hall of Legends inductee.

    Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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    PHOTO: VIRESA
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