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    Is Sibol ready for the loaded 2023 campaign? Coach Duckeyyy reflects

    All eyes will once again be on Sibol for setting the standards
    Apr 28, 2023
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    PHOTO: Sibol

    SIMILAR TO BLACKLIST INTERNATIONAL in 2022, Bren Esports will have a stacked year full of numerous Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competitions.

    From their MPL Season 11 campaign, the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, and the IESF Qualifiers, Bren's mental fortitude will be severely tested.

    And this isn't yet the final list of tournaments for the Beehive as the prospect of competing in the major MLBB events, namely the MSC 2023 in Cambodia and the M5 World Championship in the Philippines is also on the works.

    To add to the pressure is the fact that the Philippines is the most dominant region in MLBB as we garnered gold medals in the previous Southeast Asian Games and the overall championship in the M-series.

    So how is Bren Esports or Sibol dealing with the loaded schedule? According to Coach Francis "Duckeyyy" Glindro, dealing with the pressure is key.

    "We take it just one day at a time kase if we succumb to pressure or if we give up to pressure na ang dami naming tournament, it’s going to be a long year for us, we just take it one day at a time, we don’t focus on enemy teams na lang e," revealed the Bren head coach.

    He added: "Instead, we just focus on ourselves, how we master the game, how we improve ourselves on a daily basis, so we set goals on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. But we still have out eyes on the higher prize, which is of course the gold for the SEA Games and qualifying for the regionals for IESF."

    And the best way to serve as a litmus test for their preparations is none other than the upcoming MPL playoffs.

    "Yes this is going to be our training ground. Currently we’re training for the MPL Playoffs, as well as the SEA Games, and IESF, so it’s quite hectic for us at this point. So the preparation though, not so much because we’re hitting three birds with one stone."

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    Discussing Sibol's current system

    Looking at the lineups for the upcoming SEA Games, Indonesia once again deployed an all-star cast of players featuring members from EVOS Legends (Rizqi "Saykots" Iskandar, Jabran "Branz" Wiloko, and Rachmad "DreamS" Wahyudi), RRQ Hoshi (Albert "Alberttt" Iskandar and Calvin "VYN"), and Onic Esports (Nicky "Kiboy" Fernando and Gilang "SANZ").

    Other national teams like Malaysia and Cambodia have likewise followed the same approach of fielding players from varying teams.

    Then there are teams like Singapore and Myanmar who have chosen one representative.

    In the Philippines, the head coach is given the freedom to select their style in the selection process through the combine and Coach Duckeyyy has decided to use the main five of Bren Esports alongside Onic PH's Nowee "Ryota" Cabailo Macasa as the reserve player.

    So what does Coach Duckeyyy think of Sibol's current system? Given the success that they garnered last year, where Blacklist had to use their main roster and mix it up with rookies and players from Maharlika, as well as the gold medal finish featuring the Philippines' best in 2019, he believes that their current methodologies work.

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    "I think it has been proven by Sibol that what we’re doing actually works because we had the past two gold medals na," he reflected.

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    Discussing Indonesia's preparations

    Then as he went on, he discussed what he feels about Indonesia's roster assembly.

    "With Indonesia though, not quite sure how it will work out because it’s going to be a mix of egos, personalities, and characters, not sure how they’re going to manage it, but looking at some of the internet pages, that released kung sino roster nila and staff, they have a really good support system as well," revealed Coach Duckeyyy.

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    While last year's SEA Games saw the Philippines dismantle Indonesia's all-star lineup, there are concerns that Sibol should be wary off.

    The MPL Indonesia Season 11 ended earlier, giving the National team more time to prepare for the SEA Games. Meanwhile, Bren Esports and their rivals are in the middle of the playoff season, which means Indonesia will have their eyes on them.

    "It’s going to be one of their angles definitely when preparing against us because it’s going to be easy for them to watch our games in the MPL playoffs, there might be a livestream for the IESF regional qualifiers as well in terms of scouting, reading our gameplay," reflected Glindro.

    While this could be an advantage for Indonesia, for Coach Duckeyyy it may also work in their favor as well.

    "But at the same time, it gives them this mentality of this is what they’re going to do so it actually favors us in a sense that we can prepare some sort of cheese strats that they won’t actually see in the playoffs as well as the IESF qualifiers."

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    He added: "It goes both ways really, it boils down to how we play it. It’s going to be a war and in war everything goes."

    And given Coach Duckeyyy's knowledge with the Indonesian MLBB scene due to his stint with EVOS Legends back in their M1 campaign, he believes that his team is ready.

    "In terms of like pressure, I don’t think there’s much pressure kase we know how each of the players that are in the SEA Games, national team of Indonesia, we know how they play so we’ll see."

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    Setting the standards

    Another concern for Sibol would be the meta adjustments. Immediately after the playoffs end, Bren Esports and Ryota will be flying to Cambodia to compete.

    This might see a sudden shift in playstyle as Sibol will have to transition from the Philippine meta to the Southeast Asian meta.

    Will the meta changes affect Sibol? Here's what Coach Duckeyyy thinks.

    "I don’t think so because we are the meta, I mean Philippines sets the tone of any tournaments currently so I don’t think there’s much pressure in terms of like, ‘Ah we’re coming in, we’re playing against different regions, they’re playing with a different meta," opined the Sibol head coach.

    He added: "But I don’t think that’s going to be a problem because if we focus on our own identity, we focus on the gameplay that we have right now, I don’t think they’ll be bringing the game to us but it’s going to be the other way around, we’re going to be bringing the Philippine meta to them, it’s going to be their problem, not ours."

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    In the past couple of international tournaments, it has been the Philippines setting the standards in the MLBB scene, with teams struggling to cope with their disciplined mechanics and insane understanding of both the micro and macro aspects of MLBB.

    Will this narrative once again reign supreme? Let's just wait and see.

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

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    PHOTO: Sibol
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