AFTER exploding into the scene during the first few weeks of the regular season, many considered ECHO PH to be a strong title contender. They even managed to beat the other notable powerhouses like RSG Philippines and TNC.
The team was also exciting to watch as each member is known for their sudden explosive entrances.
Yet despite the joy of watching their dreaded Johnson-Kadita combo, the air-combo from Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera and Jankurt Russel “KurtTzy” Matira, or the savage moments from Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, ECHO PH has also experienced some major setbacks.
A string of consecutive losses against Onic PH, Bren Esports, RSG PH, and Nexplay EVOS punctuated their regular season run, stamping a lot of question marks on their “superteam” status.
Things are looking shaky as the playoffs loom.
Why are they were struggling? Coach Michael Angelo “Arcadia” Bocado offers one answer: “Nagsimula yung talo namin since nagkaroon ng major patch. Siguro hindi pa siya namin masyadong na-adapt.”
He admitted that he had also been surprised by Nexplay’s unorthodox strategies during their final match before the playoffs.
“Actually, yung mga ni-review naming strategy, kumbaga hindi siya masyadong lumabas sa game na ito," said Arcadia. "So parang different topic pa and talagang sa tingin ko kinulang lang kami sa series na ito.”
Arcadia is not worried for ECHO PH
Yet despite the worrisome trend, Coach Michael Angelo “Arcadia” Bocado remained composed as he acknowledged that his team is looking forward to a "hard reset."
“Siguro ano, we’re fortunate na in a sense kase na yeah kase yung mga losestreaks, possible siya na magdere-derecho no? And we’re fortunate na we have these three weeks before dumating yung playoffs so we can do a hard reset para sa team namin," he said.
This won't include lineup changes, assured the Orcas coach.
“Hindi naman siguro kase dito pa lang sinet namin yung lineup na gagamitin namin for the whole season and whatever happens, yung picks lang namin yung pwedeng i-fix sa lineup na iyun kaysa sa paikot-ikot kami ng lineup na mas lalong hahaba yung process of improving.”
ECHO PH will go to the playoffs as the third seed and they’ll be facing Omega, a team who they demolished during the regular season. However, they should still remain wary, with Omega rediscovering their ability to shine under pressure.
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