Phnom Penh—Sibol came so close to a gold medal but missed out as Indonesia unleashed multiple attacks in the homestretch to rule the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang best-of-five finals series, 3-2, on Thursday night in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the NabaTheatre at NagaWorld 2 Integrated Resort.
The match seesawed but it was the Indonesians who took the top of the podum, 6-12, 12-5, 10-6, 4-14, 5-13.
The Filipinas let go of a 4-4 count following a killing spree led by Indonesian Michelle Denise Siswanto and that kept them from claiming the country’s first-ever women’s crown in esports at the end of a 15-minute battle.
Mery Christine Vivero and her crew kept the Philippines in the thick of the fight with a double kill and her efforts in the earlier stages of the tournament allowed the Filipinas to stop Malaysia, 48-19, 23-19, in the semifinals.
Indonesia made it to the gold medal round with a 2-0 (28-10, 29-10) triumph over Vietnam.
Coach Abraham Unida said the squad was unfamiliar with Indonesia’s style of play and that the Filipinas—also made up of Gwynette Diagon, Alexandra Dardo, Rica Amores and Kaye Alpuerto—managed to gain the lead after getting to know Indonesia’s game better in Game 2 and 3.
But they were surprised in the fourth and fifth games and faltered against the Indonesians’ assault.