M3 World Champions Blacklist International is off to a slow start in the first week of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines Season 9 (MPL PH Season 9) after losing their first two games against ECHO and TNC.
However, Blacklist International head coach Kristoffer Ed “BON CHAN” L. Ricaplaza assured fans that there is nothing to worry about, and that the V33Wise-less squad will eventually find their groove in the following weeks of the regular season.
BON CHAN’s reaction to their MPL PH Season 9 Week 1 performance
In a post-game press conference after their loss to TNC, the coaching staff of Blacklist International said it’s no surprise that the newly-revamped team will face difficulties in the first few weeks of the tournament.
“We will experience defeat. I also mentioned this before in Boss Tryke’s vlogs. Before the MPL starts, expect us to struggle for the first two weeks. It is already happening,” said the head coach.
During the off-season, the dynamic duo of Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna and Daenerie James “Wise” Del Rosario announced that they’ll be taking a break this MPL PH Season 9. Rookie Kent Xavier “KEVIER” Lopez and Mark Jayson “ESON” Gerardo were then called in to replace the duo for this season.
“Before, the team was utilizing the UBE meta. Now I am still adjusting to the assassin meta,” BON CHAN said. “We are still experimenting with the meta as of today.”
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The coaching staff of Blacklist International speaks out
Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani, the newest addition to the coaching staff, said he is certain that the team’s performance will improve in the next few weeks.
“We now know better the weakness of the team,” Master the Basics said. “If we won our first two games, we wouldn’t know what the team lacks. Because of this loss, we at least know our weakness.”
Blacklist International will next face Nexplay EVOS on Friday, February 25, at 8 p.m. GMT+8.
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