E-Gilas Pilipinas out to defend crown in FIBA Esports Open

MANILA, Philippines, November 12 ------ Playbook Laus Esports, which dominated the first edition of the FIBA Esports Open last June, will represent the Philippines anew when the second run of the competition tips off on November 14. The games will be streamed on the Facebook page of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas as E-Gilas Pilipinas tries to defend its crown against Indonesia and Australia. Expanding from the original field of 17 teams, FIBA Esports Open II will feature a larger crop of participants with 38 national teams grouped into six regional conferences happening over the course of three weekends.

The participating teams will be grouped up into the following conferences factoring in geographical conditions and server distributions: Africa, North and Central America, South America, Europe, Middle East, and Southeast Asia/Oceania. Team Pilipinas will be composed of veterans and champions in the competitive NBA 2K scene: Angelico Cruzin aka Shintarou; two-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; and reserves Arnie Sison ELChapO; and Rocky Braña aka Rak. They will be coached by Nite Alparas.

"We are thrilled to once again represent the nation in the FIBA Esports Open II. Being invited back is both an honor and a challenge to Team Pilipinas, which we'll meet with passion and sportsmanship in the true spirit of Philippine basketball," said Richard Brojan, who co-manages Team Pilipinas with Paul Laus from Playbook Laus Esports. "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," said SBP president Al Panlilio. "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."

The 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. As before, teams can fully customize their player avatars, uniforms, and arena designs. Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia/Oceania conferences will tip-off on November 14-15. The Europe conference will be played on December 12-13 and the North and Central America, and South America conferences on December 19-20. Individual finals will take place in each of the respective conferences with a best of three format.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com/sports