SIBOL ended its Naraka: Bladepoint campaign on a high note, escaping Hong Kong, 2-1, to close out a challenging group-stage run in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Wednesday at the Aichi Sky Expo in Japan.
The Philippines finished Pool B with a 1-2 record, placing third in a competitive group that also featured Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong, and missing out on a top-two spot that would have secured it a place in the semifinals.
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SIBOL opened the group stage with losses to Chinese Taipei and Vietnam, ending its hopes of advancing to the semifinals.
Still, the Filipinos refused to go quietly, battling Hong Kong down to the wire in an attempt for a graceful exit to the quadrennial meet.
Team captain Joaquin Paclibar set the tone with a commanding performance in Game 1 (solo), taking down Mingjie Wang twice to give SIBOL a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
The trio of Richard Espejo, Von Teñoso, and Kenneth Perez could not replicate their skipper’s hot start in Game 2, falling to Fanny Fung Ching Wong, Yu Hin Wong, and Kevin Lam as Hong Kong forced the decider.
Backed by Smart, Cignal, TV5, and Arena Social, SIBOL regrouped in the decider and held off Hong Kong to close out its campaign with a victory.
Despite falling short of the semifinals, Paclibar saw the campaign as a valuable learning experience for the squad, especially after proving that Filipino players can compete on the international stage.
“For this group stage, we’re confident that we executed what we practiced. But the teams at this level are really good, and they adapt very quickly. That’s something we still need to improve on,” Paclibar said.
“Qualifying through Singapore and then making it to Japan gave us proof that there are players from the Philippines who can compete at a high level. The hours we’ve put in throughout our growth have all led to this moment and we’re very grateful,” he added.
Next up for SIBOL is Karl Gonzalvo’s Puyo Puyo Champions campaign on Thursday, where he will face Japan at 9:20 a.m., Kazakhstan at 10 a.m., South Korea at 10:40 a.m., and Hong Kong at 11:20 a.m. in Pool A.
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