For the second straight edition, the gold medal remains out of reach for the SIBOL MLBB Women’s team after suffering another heartbreaking defeat, this time at the hands of Malaysia in a back-and-forth 4–3 finals clash on December 17.
The SIBOL Women’s team stormed into the grand finals of the 33rd SEA Games Women’s MLBB Tournament, riding massive momentum after finishing the group stage with a flawless 3-0-0 record and taking down the defending champions and regional powerhouse Indonesia with a convincing 3–1 semifinal victory.
Philippines Takes Early Lead Before Malaysia’s Tactical Response
Things were looking that way after SIBOL raced to a commanding 2-1 advantage with mid-laner Rica Fatima Amores leading the charge. But a questionable Game 4 draft proved costly, allowing Malaysia to strike back and even the series at two apiece.
Team Philippines came out swinging in Game 5 and dictated the pace from the start. But Malaysia refused to back down, with Hanis and Quennie leading the counter-attack. Yet, SIBOL stayed poised and punished their key mistakes to secure the crucial win. Exp-laner Gwyneth “Ayanami” Diagon shined with the Esmeralda, posting a 7-3-10 line to put the Philippines at match point.
However, Malaysia punched back in Game 6, turning the series into a do-or-die showdown. Farisha dominated on Arlott with a 6-1-13 KDA, claiming her third MVP of the series. With momentum on their side, Team Malaysia kept going and grabbed the early upper hand in Game 7. SIBOL could never find its footing and had to settle with the silver.
It was the exact same thing that happened for SIBOL in 2023. They reached the match point first with a 2–1 lead, but Indonesia won the last two games to claim the gold in the best-of-five finals.
