AFTER A PERFECT RUN in the Group Stages of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, the SIBOL VALORANT team took a tumble in their quest for Gold Medal. The VALORANT squad could not get over the stalwart defense of the Indonesians as they lost 2-0 to kick off Day 2 of their campaign.
Hopes were high coming into the game against Indonesia with SIBOL star player Xavier ‘Xavi8k’ Juan declaring that “It won’t mean anything to me unless we win the Gold!”
With Vietnam surprisingly losing to Singapore in their respective match, the Bronze Medal Match for the SIBOL squad was set.
Many fans were expecting Philippines and Vietnam to meet in the Grand Finals after an impressive Group Stage performance from the two countries but it was not meant to be. SIBOL’s pride was on the line and they had to give it their all to secure the Bronze Medal for the Philippines.
MAP 1 - ASCENT
The series kicked off with Vietnam’s Map Pick of Ascent. Vietnam has shown a lot of class in Ascent throughout the tournament and Philippines were in for a tough game. Interestingly, Philippines didn’t go for their usual double Duelist comp in the series opener.
After SIBOL secured the Pistol with the solid site hold of Nathaniel ‘Nexi’ Cabero’s Killjoy, they rode the momentum to a fast 5-2 start in the first Map. Vietnam tried to stabilize behind Pham ‘d0rf’ Quoc’s plays but the Philippines wouldn’t have it. George ‘Georggyyy’ Lahica’s Jett was deadly throughout the first half as SIBOL secured a dominating 10-2 half.
Vietnam had to win the Pistol round in the 2nd half for any hope of a comeback. Vietnam did just that and the game was back in contention as they picked up two quick points in the half.
In the all-important first Rifle round of the half, SIBOL swung the game right back in their favor. Philippines held their lead and secured the Map with the 13-5 scoreline. SIBOL took Vietnam’s Map pick away from them and a 1-0 lead.
MAP 2 - HAVEN
SIBOL were all smiles as they went into their Map pick of Haven in the 2nd game of the series. Once again it was Philippines who took the Pistol in the opening half. Jed ‘Drax’ Jamir even brought the renowned Tondo Gaming style of the Philippines to Cambodia with a knife kill against Vietnam in Round 3.
This fired up Nguyen ‘Natthong2k’ Thong with his aggressive Jett OP play on defense as Vietnam equalized the score in Haven after the rough start. SIBOL managed to make the adjustments around Natthong2k and they finished the half with an 8-4 scoreline.
Vietnam needed a hero to step up for a comeback bid in the 2nd half. Nguyen ‘Viness’ Trung Tin stepped up in a big way throughout the half. Viness even secured an Ace in Round 15 of the Map.
With Vietnam primed for a comeback, an incredible eco round behind Nexi stabilized the Map for the Filipinos en route to a 6-11 scoreline. While Vietnam had a last solid push in the end to pick up more rounds, the economic lead of the Philippines held strong as they eventually put Vietnam away 13-10 in the map.
SIBOL showed the grit they lacked against Indonesia as they closed out the series convincingly with a 2-0 sweep. While it isn’t the Gold Medal that Xavi8k wanted, SIBOL still secure Bronze Medal in the VALORANT tournament of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph