IN THEIR very last encounter which took place last November, it was South Built Esports who stunned Team Secret as they easily swept their foes in the finale of the Mineski VxV 2021 playoffs.
Now Team Secret are looking to avenge their previous loss, especially after a momentous swing of fortunes during the Group Stages of the VCT 2022: Philippine Challengers.
Unfortunately for them, SBE stood their ground and survived a grueling three-game series against Team Secret with a 2-1 series win.
As Team Secret dominated Game 1, SBE made calculated plays in the succeeding games, led by Johnty “JA” Arone.
JA’s heroics in full display
One cannot deny JA’s overall performance in this series, especially with his Reyna in Game 3. Initially, he was able to masterfully outmaneuver Secret using his abilities, leading to a commanding 10-4 lead.
However, Team Secret bounced back courtesy of Jayvee’ “DubsteP” Paguirigan’s Chamber play and Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco and Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza’s positional play. Secret mounted a furious rally, leading to an Overtime session.
But while Team Secret managed to weather the storm, JA made crucial plays to give his team the advantage as seen with his clutch in round 22.
Determined to finally stomp their momentum, JA capitalized on the high ground in round 25 and made crucial double kills to spark their overtime victory.
This was later followed by a flawless display from SBE in the 2nd overtime round.
Adapting to Team Secret gameplan
But SBE didn’t just rely on JA’s performance to push them forward as the entire team was able to adjust to Team Secret’s approach.
While Jeremy “Jremy” Cabrera delivered an inspiring performance in Game 1 with his Raze, SBE nerfed him in Game 2 as Azis “azys” Nandang gave him a hard time with the numerous times he sniped Secret’s rookie.
And there were instances in the match when Secret was able to delay SBE from moving forward with their timed abilities, forcing the latter to make a disastrous and desperate push to plant the spike.
Nevertheless, they were able to learn from their flaws. However, this is one area for improvement that the team needs to consider in the succeeding days.
Regardless of some hiccups from SBE, they were able to adapt from Secret’s movements, especially in their dissection of JessieVash’s sneaky play.
With their 2-1 win, SBE will face NAOS Esports in the 2nd round of the upper bracket while Team Secret will have to wait for their next opponents in the lower bracket of the playoffs.
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.
