Frediemar “3Mar” Serafico and Frederic “Bennyqt” Gonzales took turns powering TNC Pro Team to a dominant 2-0 sweep of AP.Bren, securing their second straight victory in the MPL Philippines Season 16 on Saturday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati City.
With the win, the Phoenix Army improved to 2-2, forcing a triple tie for fourth place alongside Smart Omega and Team Liquid PH.
Despite the strong showing, TNC coach Patrick “E2max” Caidic reminded his squad to stay grounded and focused, knowing they still have to face the league’s toughest contenders.
“Kanina yung naging laruan nila, isa yung sa pinakamalinis naming laro as of the moment. Yun lang talaga yung goal namin every match na makapaglaro as clean as possible,” he said of their performance against AP.Bren.
“Pero mindset pa rin na kahit nakakapagpull off kami ng ganung performance is hindi umangat sa ulo namin kasi marami pang bigger teams ang kakalabanin namin. Syempre, kelangan lang din namin magfocus nga. Yung sinasabi ko sa kanila na sa ginagawa namin, wag namin isipin yung result kasi yung result lalabas na lang yan basta magawa namin yung dapat naming gawin,” he added.
3Mar’s Lapu-Lapu set the tone in Game 1 with a crucial double kill during the second-minute turtle fight, sparking TNC’s early surge. By the sixth minute, they had already built a commanding 4,000 net worth lead.
Lance “LanceCy” Cunanan’s Zhuxin then delivered two clutch kills in the 13th-minute lord fight, capping it off with a 5-for-2 wipeout that sealed the opener for TNC.
In Game 2, Bennyqt’s Harith took center stage as he erupted for a flawless 8-0-3 KDA. His fourth kill in the 11th minute paved the way for TNC to secure the lord objective and gain full map control, eventually cruising to a lopsided series-clinching win.
AP.Bren (1-3) suffered their third straight loss since their victorious debut and now sits at seventh place in the standings.
