DESPITE FINISHING third in the regular season, fans and even pundits expressed concerns on Blacklist International's playoff success in MPL Philippines Season 11.
Some argued that Blacklist have become predictable, while there were those who believe that the Codebreakers' championship window is coming to a close.
And up against Bren Esports, the top seed in Season 11, the odds were stacked against the defending MPL champions due to how Bren destroyed them in the regular season, which included a 17-0 romp.
Given the shaky regular season outing, Blacklist needed a change in mindset and Coach Dexter "DEX STAR" Alaba's NBA fandom served as an inspiration for the team.
Blacklist's 3-1 victory over Bren Esports in the upper bracket was reminiscent of playoff LeBron James, especially now with his 7th seed Los Angeles Lakers team stunning the 2nd seeded Memphis Grizzlies.
During that series, LeBron erupted despite talks of him being past his prime.
"Actually isa rin yan sa naging talks namin (playoff LeBron) after Week 8, na walang impossible kase yung mga top seeds (Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies), sila yung nalaglag sa playoffs diba? So parang ganoon din yung mindsetting. Lahat sila pumipindot, lahat kami best of five, back to zero kaming lahat. Pagalingan na lang ng decision," explained DEX STAR to Spin.ph
With Blacklist showing their prowess in the playoffs, DEX STAR was then asked by Spin.ph on who was more threatening, "Playoff Blacklist or Playoff LeBron?"
According to DEX STAR: "Siguro pag-ML, playoff Blacklist kase si LeBron hindi naman nag-e-ML yun e! (laughs)”
A change in mindset
Besides the inspiring story from Coach DEX STAR, Blacklist likewise had to deal with complacency issues, which was something that the Codebreakers' analyst revealed as well.
The loss against Bren during the regular season served as an eye-opener.
“Para sa amin, parang blessing in disguise (losing to Bren) kase kung manalo kami doon sa match na iyon, siguro magiging complacent kami medyo sa practice kase tinalo namin yung number 1," reflected DEX STAR.
He added: "Pero dahil sa nangyari ngayon, na-realize namin na may kailangan pa kaming idagdag sa practice. And also may mali din kaming approach na ginawa."
Then when talking about Blacklist's immaculate performances in the playoffs, Coach Aniel "Master the Basics" Jiandani expressed how the change in mindset unleashed playoff Blacklist.
"After ng Week 8, nag-iba yung mindset nila going into the playoffs kaya iba yung laro nila ngayon."
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