NAVI PH’s dream to defend their title in the 2025 MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI) has been shattered after falling into the hands of Gaimin Gladiators. The defending champions came in with hopes to repeat history, only to be met by the cruel hands of defeat and life lessons far more lasting than a trophy.
What exactly went wrong on the side of NAVI PH?
From a tactical perspective, Head Coach Salman “King Salman” Macarambon highlighted the crucial lord contention in game 2. A bit more patience could have helped NAVI PH secure a victory to at least even the series at 1-1.
“About the second game, it's like a one-sided game, but when the second Lord dance came, maybe the patience, they were rushing. We will bring this as a lesson learned for the next tournaments,” Coach King Salman said.
Meanwhile, Gwyneth “not ayanami” Diagon did not sugarcoat her thoughts following the tough loss that marked the end of their run.
“I've said this a lot of times that we treat each game like one day at a time. Maybe today, I didn't feel that everybody was paying full attention to how crucial and how high the stakes are within the matches today. I didn't think that everybody was feeling that we are in a 50-50 situation and how strong the opponents are,” she expressed.
The expectations may be high for NAVI PH, but pressure was not actually the major factor of their loss—it was overlooked fundamentals.
“I think my team handles pressure well. I think what really affected us was that we forgot to remind each other what was important and what were the objectives. We forgot to do our pre-game rituals; it wasn't complete, and in-game, we forgot to remind each other what's needed and what's not,” not ayanami explained.
Bawi na lang sa SEA Games and IESF
The journey of NAVI PH may have ended sooner than expected, but they promised to bounce back stronger than ever.
“To the fans, NAVI Nation, thank you for supporting us. I'm sorry we fell short, but we'll do better next time,” Sheen “Shinoa” Perez said.
“Yung pinaka-valuable na lesson yung patience talaga. Mas iwo-workout namin siya para sa mga paparating naming tournament since mayroon pa kaming IESF tsaka SEA Games. Dadalhin namin yung lesson na ‘to para bumawi, especially sa mga fans at sa family namin,” Coach King Salman expressed.
(The most valuable lesson really is patience. We’ll work on it more for our upcoming tournaments, especially since we still have IESF and the SEA Games. We’ll carry this lesson with us as we bounce back—especially for our fans and our families.)
Defeat doesn't erase what NAVI PH has accomplished beyond the scoreboards: breaking boundaries for women in esports.
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