KRISTOFFER “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza never runs out of stories to tell regarding Blacklist International’s offseason. Recently, he shared plans about acquiring the likes of Kiel VJ “Kielvj” Cruzem and regular season MVP Dylan “Light” Catipon before Season 9.
Now he talks more about the Blacklist team that secured the SEA Games ticket in his newest YouTube vlog.
Because underaged Kiel “Oheb” Soriano and Edward “Edward” Jay Dapadap would not be able to play for the national team, the Blacklist coach was forced to look for a new sidelane duo that would fit the trio of Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna, Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario, and Salic “Hadji” Imam.
In terms of the gold lane role, he first considered acquiring someone from the amateur scene.
“So ang una namin choice ay si Outplayed [Johnville Villar] ng Omega and maganda yung naging performance ni Outplayed,” he said. “Noong triny-out namin siya parang, ‘Ok eto na yung hinahanap namin,’ dahil nasa kanya yung attributes ng pagiging gold lane.”
He even praised Outplayed’s overall performance. “Nagfa-farm, hindi kaagad sumasama, maingat. Nasa kanya yung pagiging attributes ng gold lane e."
However, Blacklist wasn’t the only team that was interested in Villar, who eventually ended up in Omega.
“Noong time na nagtra-tryout, siya tinanong ko, ‘Ano ready ka na ba?’ Join ka sa Sibol?'” he reflected. “Kaso ang sabi niya, ‘Nandito na ako sa bootcamp ng Omega.’ Sabi ko, ‘Nakapirma ka ba ng kontrata?’ Sabi niya, ‘Hindi pa siya nakakapirma’ pero nasa bootcamp siya ng Omega.
“Tinanong ko siya ano mas gusto mo Omega o Blacklist Sibol? Mas pinili niya ang Omega.”
As Outplayed carried on with the defending MSC champions, Coach BON CHAN was forced to look for alternatives. He even considered Peter Jay “Jake The Dog” Lapitan, who once played for LPE back in Season 7.
“Ang next naman sana si Jake The Dog na dating taga-LPE, may angas din naman. Kaso ang naging problema kay Jake The Dog, ok naman siya sa tapatan, sa 1-on-1 maasahan siya, may map awareness... Problema [lang] madaming unnecessary na kwentuhan, may unnecessary siyang sinasabi na mapapalaro na yung team na parang nagkakatuwaan."
To add to that litany of disadvantages, "Gusto pa niya sumama sa clash."
But just so there's no hard feelings, "Ok naman siya,” said BON CHAN. Chimed in Wise, “Naging factor din na ka-close niya si Hadji.”
With his options limited, BON CHAN was desperate to look for someone to fill Oheb’s role. Oheb had introduce his coach to Howard “Owl” Gonzales, who was on the verge of letting go of his MLBB career.
But he was given a second chance by Coach BON CHAN.
“Blessing in disguise din na siya yung nakuha namin dahil pasok ang attitude niya," said BON CHAN. "Okay din yung performance niya sa tryout at yung attribute ng pagiging gold lane nasa kanya, may map awareness, and then lumabas pa lalo yung laro niya noong nagsimula yung qualifier ng Sibol.”
EXP lane dilemma for Blacklist
As for the EXP lane role, BON CHAN initially set his sights on a veteran player.
“Yung una naming choice si Der [Lander San Gabriel] ng [dating] TNC. Ok din siya, ang problema pagdating sa tapatan, sa 1-on-1 it’s either pantay siya or malulugi pero maasahan siya pagdating ng teamfight. Alam niya kung sino yung izo-zone niya, alam niya kung magpro-protect lang siya.”
He added: “Eh kaso hindi namin maituturo sa isang EXP laner ay yung pakikipag-one-on-one. Literal kailangan mo ng experience para magaling ka sa 1-on-1, like, for example, kailangan mong katapat si R7, si Antimage, si Buts."
It was time to once again look for an alternative, which he found, after much research, in Dominic “Dominic” Soto.
“Tumingin kami sa mga nag-submit ng stats, ng screenshots, and nakita namin yung kay Dom pero hindi namin kilala, pero ang ganda ng stats,” he reflected.
“Ang taas ng winrate, may mga nagse-send ng stats na mataas yung winrate pero tiningan mo yung mismong stats like damage dealt, damage taken, sobrang baba, that means yung mga kasama nila magagaling pero sila saktuhan lang.
Due to his enigma status Coach BON CHAN was initially skeptical about the numbers. He even wondered if Dom was an account buyer or a piloted player, but all of these doubts turned to dust the moment he tried out for the Codebreakers.
“Noong triny out namin may angas sa 1-on-1, pumapalag although yung map awareness niya noon hindi kaganda pero yun yung mga bagay na pwede mong i-workout.”
But besides his skill, his attitude was heavily lauded.
“Ok din yung attitude niya, tatahimik-tahimik yan pero may swag, may angas,” affirmed BON CHAN.
In fact, the coach even compared him to Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto character.
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