WHEN RSG SLATE PH decided to utilize John "1rrad" Abarquez instead of John Paul "H2wo" Salonga in the final week of the MPL Philippines Season 11, there were a lot of heated arguments that fans raised.
Why did Coach Panda insert a rookie over a veteran like H2wo?
Why are utility/tank heroes used by H2wo even though he has proven to be an assassin user in the previous seasons.
In light of the recent online discussions, Coach Panda immediately revealed what went on behind the scenes in RSG's Facebook group.
He first addressed the concerns regarding H2wo's hero pool, by revealing the role of scrimmages.
"First of all, the way how me and Coach Theo (Raizen) prepare for tournament drafts is that we decide which heroes we can use based on our performance sa mga scrims. The notion that i have is 'Whatever happens sa scrims will happen sa tournament din," revealed the two-time MPL champion coach.

H2wo as tank/utility jungler
And as to why H2wo plays tank junglers? Here's what Coach Panda learned.
"Based on our scrim experience of the team with H2wo, it was shown that the team overall had better results using tank jungler heroes. However when we used assassin heroes sa mga scrims, the decision making and communication ni H2wo was not shown consistent."
"For more than 7 weeks, me and H2wo had reviews after games and practices, took notes, and had assignments para we can prepare him better for the matches - and I can say he definitely improved compared to when he first started, but his flexibility in his decisions of gamestyle and the aggressive confidence that can be delivered to the game does not meet my expectation yet."
In order for H2wo to improve, Coach Panda unveiled his plan for his jungler.
"While I was training with 1rrad for week 8, I gave separate assignments kay H2wo where he can build his confidence, practice new heroes and mechanics, and flexibility in decision making. Hopefully in our following preparation for playoffs, he can show the team the result of his hard work."
Besides talking about his thought process on H2wo's heroes, he likewise explained in detail the nature of tank junglers (Fredrinn, Akai, etc.) and assassin junglers (Hayabusa, Ling, etc.).
"Tank Jungler does not require much farm, and is heavily focused on objectives/tanking damage for the team to fight for vision and teamfights. Whereas, assassin junglers focus on farm / targeting backline heroes sa team fights/ and macro gaming (like Ling splitpush)."
"Depending on what type of hero you use, your decision making, shotcall, pwesto or role sa team fight or communication with the team varies greatly."

1rrad's arrival
The previous matches saw the Raiders experiment with 1rrad who was recently promoted from MDL to MPL. Coach Panda did mention in one of the press conference on why he inserted 1rrad, revealing that he offers a varied playstyle, which adds more fluidity in RSG's jungle options.
But it was more than just flexing his options as mentioned on his post.
"Like I previously mentioned numerous times sa mga interviews ko, regular season is just a preparation for playoffs. It is natural that we do as many as trial-and-error as possible para we gather the essential needs that requires to be improved for the playoffs. This includes in the roster also."
He added: "My goal is to have the most optimum line up for the playoffs, that's why it was my decision to let 1rrad play to see the change of dynamics and gamestyle of team...To see if he can translate his scrim results to the tournament, it was important for me to test him sa stage also."
And with only a few weeks left before the playoffs, Panda has been rigorously making sure that his players are well prepared. His post did reveal that he is making both of his junglers well rounded.
"Now that we are in the preparation period for the playoffs, I will be training both H2wo and 1rrad and have them do a friendly competition. 1rrad learning from H2wo regarding objectives and retri, and H2wo learning from 1rrad about better decision making with non-tank heroes."
Then he asked the community to be more civil towards his players.
"If anyone has other concerns that would like me to answer please comment below. Basta please avoid toxic language and animosity towards my players or the staff."
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