Sibol’s Asian Games campaign has ended in stunning fashion
𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗡𝗢 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘! 🇵🇭💔 S𝗜𝗕𝗢𝗟’𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔
From title favorites to quarterfinal casualties.
The Philippines’ Mobile Legends: Bang Bang squad crashed out of medal contention after absorbing a painful 1-2 defeat to Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya on Wednesday at Aichi Sky Expo.
Carrying the core of four-time MPL Philippines champion Team Liquid, Sibol entered the tournament with massive expectations after sweeping Pool C with convincing wins over Jordan and Kazakhstan. But against Indonesia, the Filipinos struggled to counter their opponents’ relentless aggression.
Sibol fought back to take Game 2 after losing the opener, raising hopes of another comeback. Indonesia, however, seized control early in the deciding game and never looked back.
By the 10-minute mark, Sibol was already staring at a 7,000-gold deficit, with Indonesia dominating the map and choking off the resources of star jungler KarlTzy. The Indonesians eventually sealed the series, 12-6, in just 17 minutes.
The elimination is a bitter blow for a squad widely tipped to contend for gold. Instead, Sibol’s MLBB campaign ended before the medal rounds, while its Identity V team also bowed out in the quarterfinals after losing to Malaysia.
The Philippines still secured bronze medals in Honor of Kings and Pokémon UNITE, but the MLBB exit leaves a major “what could have been” moment in the country’s esports campaign.
One of the most anticipated gold-medal bids is over. The favorites are out. And Indonesia delivered the knockout blow.
