TNC PRO Team’s hopes to get an upset and clinch their breakthrough win were crushed with a series of crucial miscalculations against Falcons AP.Bren in the fifth week action of MPL Philippines Season 14 at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati City.
The Phoenix displayed noticeable improvements, posing a challenge to the reigning world champion Falcons AP.Bren, but it all came down to late game decisions.
The moment of truth arrived during the 25-minute lord objective contention when TNC Pro Team’s base was left unattended, and the minions went for a base siege to punctuate the nip-and-tuck affair.
“Sa first game, management of waves lang. Pero siyempre, ginagawa nila yung trabaho nila dun sa strategy na ginawa namin. Just so happen, hindi na-manage, hindi na-call yung sa top lane,” head coach Caisam “Wolf” Nopueto said, pointing out the crucial error during the last skirmish that cost them.
“So konting-konting [miscommunication] lang naman. But I think overall, good naman yung preparation naman. And then eventually, dun sa last game, masasabi ko na na-earlyhan lang kami,” he added.
Stunning the World Champs
In game two, the Phoenix flipped the narrative and stunned Falcons AP.Bren with a lopsided 11-5 score. However, the Hive ultimately won the series.
Despite bowing down to Falcons AP.Bren, coach Wolf and gold laner Salvick “Kouzen” Tolarba remained unfazed by the loss, seeing the silver lining in competing against the renowned world champions.
“Masaya kahit papaano. Kasi parang first time kong makapagdurong sa MPL tapos kahit papaano po nagagawa ko yung trabaho ko. Tapos parang alam ko pa sa sarili ko na nakasabay po ko sa lahat ng mga gold laner dito sa Pinas kahit mga veterano na sila,” Kouzen said, expressing confidence in his abilities to go toe-to-toe with top-tier gold laners in the country.
“The reason why hindi ako feeling down yun, kasi we discovered something along the way dito. Mayroon kaming malupit na learnings, which we think will be our key sa mga susunod na mga matches,” coach Wolf expressed, embracing defeat as an opportunity to learn and improve.
As the saying goes, “If you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up,” and coach Wolf lives by these words in shrugging off the pressure.
“But up against Falcons AP.Bren, parang ang mindset pa namin is wag tayo ma-pressure. Kasi itong mga Falcons AP.Bren, sila [they got] everything to lose, kami nothing to lose na kami. So that kind of mindset yung hinarap namin. I think mas pressured pa kami maglaro last week compared to this week,” coach Wolf revealed.
Establishing an open-minded culture
The morale of a team may falter and blame might arise after a loss, but coach Wolf leads the TNC Pro Team pack by fostering an open-minded culture.
“So parang unang-una pa lang, tinuro na namin dun sa mga kids na dapat open-minded kapag may feedback. Hindi dapat tini-take na emotionally yung mga nangyayari. Tapos as coaches naman, bago namin i-determine kung anong may mali, we really look at the game para malaman kung anong root cause,” he said.
“Siguro kasi parang magkasama sa panalo, magkasama sa talo, and as a team, yun yung dinevelop namin na parang decision mo dapat as long as same page. Kung magkamali ka, as a team, tayo nagkamali,” he said, to nurture a sense of accountability within the TNC Pro Team.
On the other hand, Falcons AP.Bren’s head coach, Francis “Ducky” Glindro, also commended TNC Pro Team for their recent progress in the second half of the regular season.
I feel they're starting to understand the strengths of their team. So I do hope that they reinforce those strength points of their team. If they follow through with this groove, I think they'll find good footing in the second half of the regular season,” coach Ducky expressed.
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.
