BANGKOK. — The Sibol men’s MLBB team is still the king of the SEA Games.

The crew of Sanford Vinuya, Kiel Soriano, Karl Nepomuceno, Jaypee Dela Cruz, Alston Pabico and John Carlo Roma completed a sweet sweep of Malaysia, 4-0, in the gold medal match of men’s Mobile Legends Bang Bang tournament at the Chulalongkorn University Book Center on Wednesday.

Sibol got off to a scintillating start and took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series before essaying a thrilling Game 3 comeback which slammed the door on any chance of a Malaysia comeback.

With the win, the Filipinos continued to be the benchmark for MLBB esports in the region after bagging their fourth straight gold medal in the tournament or since the event was first played in the biennial meet back in the 2019 edition.

The Nationals trailed by as many as 6K in golds and 1-12 in kill score but managed to turn the tables behind a bottom lane clash that saw them pick off three heroes of the Malaysian team.

That set up a huge counter-attack for Sibol in the third game and eventually the series after a masterful Game 4 triumph — much to the delight of the loud Filipino crowd which included Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino.

“Malaki ang suporta natin (sa esports). Iyong Smart nandiyan din kasi. Expected pero sa babae may laban tayo diyan. Dito sa men’s expected,” said Tolentino, who was joined by SBP president Ricky Vargas and officials from Smart Communications which supported the team’s preparations for the biennial meet.

“Nag-usap-usap lang talaga kami na hindi pa talaga namin kaya sa teamfight. Nag-defend muna kami. Nagkamali lang talaga ‘yung Malaysia,” Pabico said of the Game 3 comeback.