REMEMBER THAT TIME when Coah Paul Denver "Yeb" Miranda had a 0-13 record back in Season 7? Given how Yeb turned things around with an MSC trophy and numerous MPL Indonesia championships, it's not a surprise when people forget about his early career blemish, proving that redemption arcs are plausible.
On hindsight, it seemed Onic Philippines gambled with Coach Yeb, but hiring someone who had nothing to brag about has its own benefits. Coach Yeb entered Onic PH and propelled them to a runner up finish back in the M3 World Championships.
And that was the same philosophy that Onic implemented when acquiring players like Jann "Kirk" Solcruz Gutierrez, King "K1NGKONG" Cyric Perez, Brain Milez "Spider-Milez" Santos, and Borris James "Brusko" Parro, who all had mediocre careers before winning it all with Fnatic Onic Philippines.
"I remember when I first got Coach Yeb back in Season 8, that was the time when Cignal Ultra was 0-13. I felt the same way towards those three, that's how my heart felt," started country manager Raff Sanchez in an exclusive with SPIN.ph.
"Sometimes these people they have so much talent, they're not surrounded with the right people. I'm not saying that RRQ or Minana EVOS are bad, but if you can utilize them properly, and most importantly they're happy, things will work out well."
Building a contender from scratch.
Onic tried numerous rebuilding attempts, from promoting an amateur team to even assembling a squad dubbed as a 'super team,' and the results only produced an early playoff exit.
But with their decision to select players with MPL experience, minus the golden accolades, the team was filled with talent determined to slay their demons. Each member from the Fnatic Onic squad that won their first MPL trophy, had a point to prove.
"Brusko, I kinda thought of one thing and I think Onic Indo and coach Tony were thinking, we all just felt that we all had a dream and the ones who want it the most are those who have never gotten anything," revealed Sanchez.
Then when looking at K1NGKONG's journey, there were questions if he was truly a top quality player after a string of bottom place finishes with TNC Pro Team.
But Raff was convinced by members from Onic that there was something special in him.
"For K1NG(KONG), honestly speaking I had a back-and-forth with Onic Indonesia because I wasn't too sure, but my boss was able to convince me alongside Coach Tony (Ynot), and at the same time Coach Yeb, and they were like even Kairi thinks that he is good so I was like ok let's go for it."
Unleashing the Minana boys' potential
Meanwhile, Kirk, who made a strong impression with Minana EVOS, managed to catch the attention of Raff. His overall playstyle with Onic was an upgrade as there were questions surrounding Jem "Jem" Lanojan's hero pool.
"For Kirk, I'll be honest, I remember watching his game of Arlott and I was like, 'Sh*t, I like this guy, I'll do anything to get him and I was able to get him.' At that time, I was surprised that not much people were trying to get him," explained Sanchez.
But he wasn't the only one from Minana who delivered a solid outing as Brian Milez "Spider-Milez" Santos likewise made a statement with his former club, however his venture into Onic may seem like a downgrade especially since Brusko became the team's priority.
"Same goes with Milez, to be honest it was pretty hard to get Milez because at that time he had so many options, like Blacklist and TNC, and I remember the offer we gave him. We were saying there's a big chance that you will not play," explained Raff.
And while it seems like Milez remains as a surplus to the team, it turns out he has a crucial role in building the team's mentality.
"But the specific thing we told him was, 'We're not investing you now as a player, we're investing into you as a person because we understand that Milez is very matured and he is reserved and at the same time he helped discipline the team. We're actually thankful that Milez took our offer and it gave us a different perspective approach diffirent people," reiterated Sanchez.
Acquiring the Gold Standard
But before all of this happened, Sanchez had to make one of the biggest moves in the franchise's history, acquire a former MSC champion and one of the hottest names in the scene, Duane "Kelra" Pillas.
Ever since his success in the MSC, Kelra has suffered from frustrating seasons with Smart Omega, with things crashing down in Seasons 11 onwards.
"For Kelra, he mentioned it before that he wanted to play with certain people so we tried our best to get all of them at the same time, thankfully we were able to get Kelra," said Sanchez.
It wasn't easy to get the Gold Standard since he is considered to be the face of the Omega franchise, but luckily for the Hedgehogs, they secured a superstar talent, who can potentially draw other talented players to tag along.
"Honestly Kelra at first was a bit harder to get because we didn't expect Smart Omega to drop him kasi he is one of the faces of Smart but thankfully we were able to get him."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
