AFTER POSTING on his personal Facebook page about his frustrations on Blacklist International’s odd drafting choice against ECHO PH, Coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza dug deep and further clarified the situation in his very first YouTube video.
And he did it all while riding his motorcycle.
As he explained, when it comes to drafting, there are a lot of factors to consider from counterpicks, playstyle, the meta, and even the player preferences.
“So kung napapansin niyo kahapon, so yung mga comfort heroes namin, ay open pero never pi-nick diba? Sa ganung pagkakataon, kino-consider ko yung feeling ng player na gagamit,” he said.
“If hindi niya piliin iyon, hindi natin siya pwedeng pilitin. Sinuggest naman natin, pero hindi nila feel yung araw na iyon na gamitin yung particular hero na iyon kaya nauwi sa ganun.”
Then he connected what he said to the incident that took place against ECHO PH.
“Parang ang nangyari, ‘Eto coach mas gusto ko ito!’ Ako naman syempre dahil alam kong mas-feel nila yung hero na iyun so umo-o na lang ako ng umo-o para sa mga hero na gusto nilang gamitin, without knowing na ganun pala yung kakabagsakan ng lineup,” he reflected.
BON CHAN explains dynamic with Blacklist athletes
So should fingers should be pointed at the players? Coach BON CHAN said that shouldn’t be the case.
“Pero player ba dapat sisihin doon? Hindi, dahil nasa sa akin pa din yung last say. Hawak ko pa din yung bola kung ano yung kakabagsakan ng lineup.”
He even admitted that this could’ve been avoided.
“Pero doon ako naiinis kase pwede nating ma-avoid pero hindi ko nagawa,” he said. “So hindi namin ma-afford na matalo at kailangan namin na tigwa-one point one point, kaso doon pa ako pumalpak kaya inis na inis ako kahapon sa sarili ko.”
While one could interpret his Facebook post to mean that he was shifting the blame, he admitted in his Youtube video that he had no intentions of accusing the team.
“Kung napapansin niyo kahapon, medyo alarming yung pinost ko. Nagmukhang may sinisisi ako pero never kong ginawa yon,” he said. “Never akong nanisi ng teammates ko or kahit sino pa man. Never kong gagawin yun and hindi tama iyon.”
He added: “Kung maninisi man ako, hindi sa ganoong paraan yung naka-broadcast at dala lang talaga ng frustration ko dahil sa akin talaga yun. Walang dapat sisihin dun kundi ako dahil avoidable naman yung ganung draft pero hindi na-avoid eh.”
Coach BON CHAN also defended the team’s analyst, Aniel “Master The Basics” Jiandani.
“Alam niyo guys, ito sasabihin ko sa inyo. Never tayong magcha-champion sa M3 nang wala si MTB [Master the Basics]. Kaya sa mga nagsasabi na dumating na sa Blacklist nagkatalo-talo na. Mahiya naman kayo. Magaling yung tao, hindi namin pipiliin kung ganun-ganun lang.”
Why Blacklist was struggling this season?
There’s no denying that the Codebreakers have been performing poorly this season. The team’s playoff hopes seem to be fizzling out after an impressive back-to-back MPL championship run.
The team’s chemistry this season was clearly far below the precedent they established.
BON CHAN even looked back at Season 6, before the V33Wise era.
“Iba yung chemistry noong lima dati. Yung tipong kapag naubusan ng comfort hero si Kairi, sasabihin ng dalawa sina ESON at DEX, ‘Sige eto na lang piliin mo kami na bahala sa iyo.’ Ganoon yung nangyayari dati eh,” he recounted.
But it wasn’t just limited to Kairi. BON CHAN said that even if teams targeted his players Arvie “Aqua” Antonio, Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario, and Kiel “Oheb” Soriano, the team still managed to overcome these antics.
“Alam niyo they got each other’s back kaya pick lang kami ng pick ng comfort hero namin.”
He added: “Ito yung bagay na totally wala talaga tayo this season at since first week yun na talaga yung tinatrabaho namin, kasama si Kevier, Eson, and DEX. “Pero hirap talaga kaming makuha. Siguro dahil sinimulan ng lose streak.”
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