MANILA, PHILIPPINES - De La Salle University's esports teams have proven to be the center of excellence in the UAAP Season 87 esports spectacle as Viridis Arcus secured two championships.
The Green Archers proved their prowess in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang with a 2-1 series win over National University in the grand finale. Coming from behind, DLSU stormed back in games two and three all thanks to the efforts of Gabriel Sanchez, Ryu Godoy, Joshua Tating, and Aaron Lim.
Because of his efforts, Lim, who once played for ECHO PH back in the MPL Philippines, garnered the finals MVP award.
"Masaya ako (sa MVP award) pero kasi hindi naman ako mag-e-MVP kung hindi dahil sa teammates ko. Team effort siya," said the former ECHO stalwart.
DLSU's lineup consists of former professional players like Joshua Tating, Aaron Lim, and Kent Xavier Lopez. The team is coached by an MLBB legend in Kenneth "Kenji" Villa.
For Kenji, this championship is a perfect redemption arc, as the team was considered to be the heavy favorites last season, only for them to disappoint expectations given their failure to reach the playoffs.
"Ito yung patunay na kaya talaga namin. Kasi nung first season, sa totoo lang parang di naman kami natalo dun eh," Villa explained. "Nadali kami sa scoring system. Best-of-2 tapos laging 1-1 score namin. Hindi kami nakapasok ng playoffs kaya ngayon naghanda kami."
"Mas doble yung practice namin kasi alam namin na sobrang laking achievement nito. Lahat ng players kasi gusto nila 'to kaya talagang fully committed kami ngayon," he added.
Back-to-back VALORANT champs
Meanwhile, DLSU's VALORANT squad has secured their second straight esports crown as the team led by Xavier Juan survived two gruelling matches of guns blazing action.
In both games, the scoreline remained close as both DLSU and Far Eastern University exchanged leads, only for the former to stand tall finishing both games with a 13-10 scoreline.
All thanks to Juan's efforts, DLSU was able to hold their ground and given his overall impact he garnered the finals MVP accolade.
But it wasn't just him who carried the team as Coach Aron Orlanda praised everyone for their ability to adapt to their opponents.
"It's good na na-read ng team yung gagawin ng kalaban and nakakapag-adjust kami, yun yung pinaka-proud ako. Kahit after mag-timeout if ever may adjustments yung kalaban, nakakapag-adjust pa rin kami kahit wala nang timeout. Yun talaga yung pinaka biggest factor para sakin," Orlanda looked back.
Ateneo secures 2nd consecutive NBA 2K trophy
But it wasn't just DLSU who had the bragging rights in the esports events as Ateneo de Manila University likewise went back-to-back: in NBA 2K.
Once again it was Paolo Medina who soared past the opposition, using one of his signature teams, the San Antonio Spurs.
But he couldn't have done this without his teammates namely Justine Lagac and Luis Jovallenos. The latter secured a crucial Game 1 overtime win for the Blue Eagles using the Washington Wizards.
“It means the world to me knowing that I did it with my teammates. I feel like this feeling of winning is way more satisfying than it was when I did last year, knowing that I did it with the efforts of my team behind me, knowing that Luis came up clutch in Game 1 in that overtime thriller,” revealed Medina.
In addition, the Loyola Gaming squad has also benefitted from the services of eGilas Pilipinas head coach Nite Alparas.
“All of our sacrifices from the last two months led to this. We got the back-to-back championships again. We basically had to start from scratch, but I saw how much they wanted to win. The team effort was really there,” said Alparas.
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