Aura PH forged a tie for the top spot in Group A after surviving a scare from Cignal Ultra, 2-1, in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League-Philippines Season Seven regular season, Saturday evening.
The two-time MPL-Philippines champion, who now boasts an 8-2 win-loss standing, has tied Work Auster Force (7-4) at the number one spot with 21 points apiece.
“Siguro po yung pagkakaiba nung [Games One and Two] hindi na kami nag Diggie strat, then kumbaga feeling kasi namin yun yung pinaghahandaan nila sa amin kaya nung pinick namin mas kaya nila,” said Benedict “Bennyqt” Gonzales moments after the win.
Despite facing Aura PH’s infamous Diggie feeding strategy, Cignal Ultra managed to claw its way back to score a momentous Game One victory.
Douglas “ImbaDeejay” Astibe’s Rafaela played a crucial part in Cignal’s comeback, heavily countering Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz’s Diggie and Allen “Greed_” Baloy’s Natalia.
Aura PH was actually a hit away from securing Game One, but after that, Cignal Ultra’s late-game prowess proved to be too much for the two-time champions to contain.
ImbaDeejay, who recorded a game-high 30 assists along with seven kills and two deaths, was named the SMART MVP in the 27:33-minute Game One win.
With their backs against the wall, Greed_ out up a superb Pharsa performance in Game Two to help Aura PH even the series.
The two-time MPL-Philippines champion registered five kills, a death, and eight assists in the 15-7 Game Two win en route to the SMART MVP plum.
Aura PH then leaned on its sidelaners come Game Three to seal the series shut via a 27-13 victory.
Christian “Rafflesia” Fajura’s Barats, who manned Aura PH’s frontline, finished with seven kills and eight assists against a death to win the SMART MVP plum.
Meanwhile, Bennyqt had five kills, two deaths, and nine assists with Alice.
Cignal Ultra now has a 0-11 standing with four points at the fifth spot in the same group.
Aura PH will be squaring off against Laus Playbook Esports tomorrow at 4:30 pm while Cignal Ultra will try and score its first win against Execration at 6:00 pm on the same day.
