MANILA, Philippines — From the basketball coliseums, PBA stars will bring their acts to virtual arenas as pro esports players in the “Lockdown Games,” which aims to raise funds for the COVID-19 pandemic frontliners.
Six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel, NLEX’s Kiefer Ravena, Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and Magnolia’s Marc Pingris banner this off-court battle organized by Southeast Asia’s pioneer esports mover Mineski Global for the benefit of the UP Medical Foundation.
It will be a show of solidarity among the PBA stars, who will play the renowned role-playing game (RPG) Dota2 tomorrow with the Philippine esports team TNC.
“This is a fundraising tournament where gamers of popular titles come together through a series of online battles to help the medical frontliners. Let’s all be part of the bigger battle,” said Mineski Global head of international marketing Patrick Larraga.
The four pro cagers will be divided into two teams with Fajardo and Ravena joining Dota2 pros Armel Tabios (TNC), Djardel Mampusti (Fnatic) and esports caster Michael Angelo Zomil (womboXcombo).
Standing on their way are Pingris and Aguilar, who will be guided by pros Timothy John Randrup (TNC), Carlo Palad (Geek Fam) and womboXcombo founder Nico Nazario.
This charity show, which will be streamed on Mineski’s official social media account from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., hopes to raise up to P1 million to help cover the needs of frontliners from the UP Medical Foundation.
The Dota2 tournament is the finale of the Lockdown Games series launched by Mineski last March 24.