By: Jan Marcus Montevirgen
In a thrilling rematch of last season’s grand finals, Aurora denied defending champion ONIC Philippines a reverse-sweep attempt, securing a 2-1 victory to exact sweet revenge in MPL Philippines Season 15 on Friday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati.
With the win, Aurora now sits atop the standings with a 2-0 record, while ONIC PH falls to 1-1, tied with TNC.
The turning point came at the 14:37 mark of Game 3 when Aurora successfully thwarted a pick-off attempt by Kirk “Kirk” Gutierrez in the middle lane. This opened the door for Jan “Domengkite” Del Mundo (Granger) to secure the Lord uncontested, leading a decisive push down the top lane to seal the win.
“I think nalalabas na namin yung laro namin. Ang goal lang namin siguro ngayon is maging consistent yung mga laro namin sa buong MPL season na ito. Kasi feel ko ngayon, nakasabay kami sa ONIC or nanalo kami sa ONIC ngayon. Pero hindi pa ito talaga yung goal namin,” said Aurora head coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani during the post-match interview.
The early minutes of Game 3 were an all-out brawl, with both teams refusing to let the other dictate the pace.
However, Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse’s Hylos anchored Aurora’s frontline, spearheading every team fight and preventing ONIC from turning the series around. His stellar performance against the reigning world champions earned him MVP honors, finishing with a KDA of three kills, two deaths, and 17 assists.
In Game 1, Edward “Edward” Dapadap’s Badang played a key role in disrupting ONIC PH’s rhythm, allowing his teammates to execute their plays in perfect synchronization. His dominant showing earned him the MVP title, posting a flawless KDA of three kills, zero deaths, and three assists.
However, ONIC PH responded in Game 2, with Duanne “Kelra” Pillas (Irithel) displaying his Finals MVP form. Kelra dominated throughout the 12-minute, 40-second match, leading his team to a convincing win to even the series at 1-1.
Aurora will look to extend their winning streak to three when they face AP.Bren on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. Meanwhile, ONIC PH will aim to bounce back as they take on Team Falcons PH earlier that day at 5:00 p.m.
