E-Gilas Pilipinas is set to defend its title against Australia and Indonesia in the FIBA Esports Open II Southeast Asia Conference on November 14 and 15.
FIBA announced the expanded NBA 2K-based online tournament on Friday, with 38 national teams taking part in the second edition that will run in the next three weekends.
"The first-ever FIBA Esports Open was an important milestone. The growing interest received from our National Federations is additional motivation for FIBA to further develop esports, and we are very enthusiastic for this second edition," said FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis in a statement.
The Philippines ruled the Southeast Asian region after crushing Indonesia via a 5-0 sweep in the first edition where 17 nations participated last June.
The winning team was composed of Aljon "Shintarou" Cruzin, Custer "Aguila" Galas, Philippe "Izzo" Herrero, Rial "Rial" Polog and Clark "Clark" Banzon. Rocky "Rak" Brana and David "Alt" Timajo complete the team as reserves.
For the second edition of the tournament, the team will reveal a fresh roster which will compete against the standouts from other competing countries.
Joining the PH side as champions of the inaugural staging are Australia (Oceania Conference), Argentina (South and Central America), Italy (Europe) and Saudi Arabia (Middle East).
Like the first iteration, the FIBA Esports Open II will be produced from its studio in Riga, Latvia, with 54 hours of live content being streamed through Facebook, Twitch and Youtube channels of the basketball federation.
Live commentary in English of up to 12 games a day will be available for the fans.