Sibol’s Pokémon UNITE campaign at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 ended with a bronze medal after Indonesia stopped the Philippines in the semifinals at Aichi Sky Expo on Sunday.
The Philippines fell 2-0 to Indonesia in the semifinal, ending its bid for a place in the gold-medal match. Despite the loss, the result gave Sibol its first-ever esports medal at the Asian Games.
The semifinal started with the Philippines in control. Robert Mempin’s Cinderace helped Sibol build a sizeable lead in Game 1, putting the team in position to take the opening game after controlling most of the contest.
Indonesia turned the game around in the final two minutes by securing Kyogre. The late-game objective gave Indonesia the push it needed to erase Sibol’s advantage and escape with a 312-277 victory.
“Actually nung Game 1, sobrang swerte nung kalaban. If you will notice, sobrang low health nung mga kalaban. It’s just that kinapos tayo,” Sibol head coach Albert Camp said.
Indonesia carried that momentum into Game 2 and built an early lead of its own. This time, Sibol could not find another comeback, falling 887-204 to drop the semifinal series 2-0.
Camp nevertheless remained proud of the team, particularly after securing a medal in its first Asian Games appearance.
“Still, sobrang happy. I’m still in awe kasi first time and sobrang happy ako sa boys ko kasi nga lifetime na nilang dadalhin ‘to. Na nagdala sila ng medalya para sa bansang Pilipinas,” Camp said.
From forfeiture to the semifinals
Sibol’s run had already taken an unexpected turn before the team reached the knockout stage.
The Philippines opened its campaign with a forfeiture against Kazakhstan following a uniform mishap, leaving the team with little room for error in Pool A.
Sibol responded by defeating Chinese Taipei and Malaysia to finish on top of the group with a 2-1 record and advance to the knockout stage.
Sibol took control from the opening minutes of Game 1, with Mempin’s Darkrai leading the way in a 576-80 victory. Mempin finished with 230 points, four knockouts, and four assists, earning an 87 performance rating. Lawrence Gatmaitan’s Crustle added 211 points, three knockouts, and six assists.
Hong Kong showed more resistance in Game 2, but Sibol again pulled away to complete the sweep with a 576-207 win.
Ducke Leoncio led the Philippines in the second game with Mew, dealing 71,672 damage while finishing with 129 points, four knockouts, and five assists.
The 2-0 victory sent Sibol into the semifinals and, more importantly, guaranteed the Philippines its first esports medal at the Asian Games.
Indonesia ultimately ended the team’s run before it could reach the gold-medal match, but the bronze capped a campaign that had started with a forfeiture and continued through two pool-stage wins and a dominant quarterfinal sweep.
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For Sibol Pokémon UNITE, the medal is the result of a run that could easily have ended with its opening setback. Instead, the Philippines recovered, topped its group, swept Hong Kong, and made its way into the Asian Games medal table.
