Time is ticking for Twisted Minds as it hopes for a last-second plot twist of making playoffs in the last week of the MPL regular season.
During the two-week MPL break to make way for the SPS Mobile Masters and Holy Week, coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza kept himself and his boys busy preparing for their fate-determining Week 7 matches against AP Bren and Smart Omega.
“Dire-diretso lang practice and meron lang kaming, I think, tatlo or apat na araw which is ‘yung mga weekends and sa Holy Week.”
They also joined the SIBOL qualifiers for the IESF World Esports Championship that took place from April 21 to 23. Although failing to advance to the top 4, the team had a productive tournament nonetheless.
“Nagka-idea kami on kung ano yung mga priority nila, kung ano ‘yung mga kaya namin kalabanin na alam namin na ginagamit nila”, he said.
And now, they’re on the verge of making the playoffs, with hopes of turning back the clock to rewind their plot twist from Season 14.
Twist and turns
When they returned from the break, they lost 2-1 to Smart Omega on the first day of Week 7. Despite their disappointing loss, Twisted Minds remained confident in their own brand of game.
“’Yun lang naman ‘yung pipiliin namin. Pipiliin ba namin ‘yung mga hero na somehow na 50-50 lang kami or mas mabuting ibigay na lang and i-pick namin yung mga comfort (picks) namin,” coach Bon Chan on his drafting.
“Hindi naman all the time, kailangan i-pick namin ‘yung mga meta. Nandoon pa rin kami sa point na kung ano ‘yung comfort namin, kung saan kami malakas, doon kami,” he added.
Coach Bon Chan shared as well what were the discussions that took place when they prepared for their redemption match against AP Bren the following day.
“Hindi namin gaanong pinagtuunan ng pansin na review-hin ‘yung game kahapon dahil basically it’s more on talo sa aspeto ng pindutan.”
“Siguro it’s about sa condition ng mga players ng players nu’ng pagpasok namin kahapon. Mas maganda talaga na lahat sila nasa 100% na good condition, which is ‘yun ‘yung nangyari.”
Odds
With one more week remaining for the regular season and a part of their fate grasped within the mercy of other teams, coach Bon Chan’s faith in their playoff odds stands strong.
“Yesterday kasi kung nanalo kami against Smart Omega, masasabi kong 90% na pasok na kami. Kaso hindi nangyari and siguro itong sa AP Bren namin, once na na 2-0 namin, yung chances are 60%. The other 40% is konting dasal (sa) kung ano magagawa ng OMG na kung makaka-gather pa sila ng points o hindi na.”, he said.
When asked about his thoughts on the APBR vs OMG match: “Ito kasing nakaraan, AP Bren nanalo sa Omega nu’ng una nilang pagtatapat. Balita ko hindi nagpahinga ‘yung AP BREN nu’ng break, so in-eexpect ko na mas maganda ‘yung maipapakita nila sa Omega.“.
His pick? “Siyempre, AP BREN since sila ‘yung mag-seseal ng deal namin sa playoffs.”.