Following the success of the FIBA Esports Open early this year, the International Basketball Federation has recently announced FIBA Esports Open II, a second run of the historic set of exhibition games that brought esports to the FIBA stage. Set on November 14 to 15, it will be streamed on the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Facebook Page.
From the original field of 17 teams, FIBA Esports Open II will feature more participants – 38 national teams that are grouped into six regional conferences happening over the course of three weekends.
Participating teams will be grouped into the following conferences factoring in geographical conditions and server distributions: Africa, North and Central America, South America, The Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia/Oceania.
Each team will be composed of seven players: five on the court and two reserves. Games will be played remotely on PlayStation 4 in NBA 2K21’s Pro-AM mode where each member of the team will control an individual player character. Teams can customize their player avatars, uniform, and arena designs.
The Philippines will once again be represented by Playbook Laus Esports, which dominated the first FIBA Esports Open last June by sweeping their 5-game exhibition match against Indonesia.
Team Pilipinas joined the ranks of Australia, Argentina, Italy, and Saudi Arabia, who came out on top of their respective conferences, proving that they deserved their spot amongst the NBA 2K greats.
The team will be composed of veterans and champions in the competitive NBA 2K scene:
- Angelico Cruzin aka Shintarou
- 2-Time NBA 2K Asia Champion Aminolah Polog Jr. aka Rial
- NBA 2K17 Asia Champion Custer Galas aka Custer
- NBA 2K18 Asia Champion Philippe Alcaraz Herrero IV aka IzzoIV
- Clark Banzon aka Clark
- Arnie Sison aka ELChapO (Reserve)
- Rocky Braña aka Rak (Reserve)
They will be coached by Nite Alparas.
Team Pilipinas is backed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, which governs all official basketball competitions in the Philippines.
“The FIBA Esports Open II gives the nation another opportunity to celebrate our passion for basketball through friendly competition with our peers from around the world. I’m confident that Team Pilipinas will once again show the best of what our country has to offer in the sport that we Filipinos love – whether it’s on the hardcourt or online.”
– Alfredo S. Panlilio, President of Samahan ng Basketball ng Pilipinas
The team has also garnered support from telecom giants and esports advocates PLDT and Smart as they carry our flag in the historic games.
“Our support for Filipino esports athletes through the years is rooted in our firm belief that our players have the skills, talent, and dedication to be at par with the best players in the world. We hope Team Pilipinas can serve as an inspiration to all casual players and fans to aim high and pursue their passions.”
– Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart
Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia/Oceania conferences will tip-off on November 14 to 15. The Europe conference will be played on December 12 to 13, and the North and Central America, and South America conferences on December 19 to 20. Individual finals will take place in each of the respective conferences with a best of three format.
Catch Team Pilipinas in action this weekend by visiting the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Facebook Page.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
