Mak Feliciano at the Manila Skate Park, where he trains almost every day.
Members of the Liyab esports organisation's League of Legends team, which will not be taking part in the SEA Games, at the Liyab gaming house.
A gamer at the Liyab Gaming House.
Establishing the national team so late in the game compressed their time frame and could potentially put them at a disadvantage to other countries that finalised their teams early this year, and therefore had more time to train together.Three out of the six esports events are team games, where chemistry is absolutely crucial: Dota 2, Arena of Valor, and Mobile Legends. The less time there is to learn to trust each other in crucial moments, the less likely it is for team members to perform effectively in high-pressure situations.This forced the PSEU to rethink their strategy. Do they create a team of the very best players in their talent pool and hope that three months is enough for them to gel? Or do they get an existing team and train them to be competition-ready?Ultimately, based on the talent pool they got during the qualifying tournaments, they decided to employ different strategies for different games."We respect the process, but there are definitely improvements for next time,” he added.
A regular skater at Manila Skate Park.
Mak Feliciano at the Manila Skate Park.
Members of the Liyab esports organisation's Mobile Legends team during a training session.
This regional stage is not only a rare opportunity to erase persisting perceptions, its triumph — in terms of both the organisation and athletic performance — could also mean a boost of funding and support that can build a foundation for further success down the road.“You just have to bring the gold medals on national TV and every skate park will just sprout like mushrooms,” said Mondigoria.He cited Efren “Bata” Reyes, the legendary Filipino billiard champion, who inspired a generation of Filipinos to play pool after his 1999 win at the World Pool Association’s Nine-Ball Championships. The same goes for boxer turned senator Manny Pacquiao, whose victories in the ring have led to more wins in showbiz, business, and politics.“I told them all their dreams will come true,” Mondigoria said. “All you need to do is just win.”Conversion: PHP1 = $0.020With reports from Lex Celera“I want skate to be as popular as basketball, where every town has a court,” Feliciano said. “Hopefully it’ll be like that for skateparks as well.”