The SIBOL Coach You Never Saw
Long before her name began circulating in elite esports rooms, Mitch Liwanag was already there—present, essential, and almost invisible.
At the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, she belonged to the SIBOL MLBB Men’s Team not in the way the audience understands belonging. She was not onstage, not introduced, not framed by lights. Her work lived elsewhere: in deliberations, in selections, in the careful work of choosing.
“Yes, kasama ako sa acquisition team who selected the players for SIBOL. However, hindi ako nakita sa stage kasi I was pregnant at that time,” Liwanag said.
Pregnancy pulled her away from technical coaching, but not from the team itself. She remained where the foundations were being laid, where decisions carried weight long after the crowd went home.
“I stopped as a technical coach at that time because my doctor told me to rest. But I was there during the acquisition, so during the combine, ako yung kasama nila sa pagpili ng players. During the planning stage, I was there.”
What emerged from that process was the roster that would carry the Philippine flag at the 30th SEA Games—a lineup now familiar, even historic.
We asked her which athletes she picked for SEA Games 2019.
“Same lineup as the ones who represented the Philippines in the 30th SEA Games in 2019.”
It is a chapter rarely mentioned, a footnote at best, yet one that continues to inform how Liwanag moves through the sport today.
When asked if that hidden history still shapes her work, she answered without pause.
“Of course! Yeah. You can see the results of our acquisition also.”
She was referring to the numerous championships and awards the team has accumulated, whose trophies now barely fit on their cabinet.
In esports circles, Mitch Liwanag has built a formidable reputation as a dangerous headhuntress, plucking players out of obscurity and turning them into stable, winning lineups. That also explains the longevity of her team’s roster.
She handpicked Alston Pabico, better known as Sanji, from a little-known amateur team. She recognized Sanford’s potential when Nexplay chose not to invest in it. She saw a diamond in the rough in Coach Arsy even when his previous team fell short of expectations. And she knew—early—that Oheb would fit perfectly.
Still, she resists the temptation of authorship, redirecting credit away from herself, as if leadership is something that must dissolve into the collective.
“Part of it but I have to credit everything to my coaching staff. They’re very brilliant, ang gagaling nila.”
Now, at the 33rd SEA Games, Liwanag returns to the same arena stripped of responsibility, carrying only hope.
“Ah, wala, I’m just here to support! I’m just flying to Bangkok just to be with them, manonood lang ako. I wish for them to get a gold medal and excited ako na makakanood ako ulit. Right now, iba yung feeling dahil isa lang akong audience.”
Some roles do not announce themselves. They pass unnoticed through history, felt more than seen, leaving behind outcomes that speak in their place.
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