Aurora quickly bounced back from their opening-day setback with a thrilling 2-1 victory over defending champion Team Liquid PH in Week 2 of the MPL Philippines Season 16, Friday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati City.
With the win, Aurora improved to 1-1, climbing to solo fifth in the standings while dropping TLPH to sixth at 1-2.
Head coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani admitted that the team still has a lot to improve on, particularly in maintaining leads that they have already squandered twice this early in the season.
“Parang ano eh, kelangan na talaga namin masanay kapag umabot kami ng mga ganun kalaking lead eh,” Master the Basics jokingly said.
“Isa yun sa mga inaayos pa namin dahil nga unti-unti yung growth ng team kasi may mga kailangan pa kaming iadjust and iapply. Isa yun sa mga kailangan pa naming maayos pa para mas maging malinis, lalo na yung pagtapos namin ng game,” he added.
In Game 1, Aurora seized control after Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo’s (Kimmy) double kill in a crucial 11th-minute clash, which secured a 4-for-2 trade along with the Lord objective.
Moments later, Jan “Domeng” Delmundo (Harith) sealed the win with a maniac during the 14th-minute Lord dance, handing Aurora a commanding 1-0 series lead.
Team Liquid PH answered back in Game 2, building as much as a 12,300 gold advantage before cruising to a dominant 10-minute victory. Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno (Fredrinn) spearheaded the charge with an MVP-worthy 1-0-6 KDA.
The deciding Game 3, however, belonged to Aurora.
In a grueling 26-minute showdown, Aurora emerged on top thanks to Yue’s (Novaria) Astral Echo followed by a direct Astral Recall hit on Alston “Sanji” Pabico’s Pharsa.
That single play flipped a disadvantageous 4-on-5 base defense into a 3-on-2 siege, ultimately sealing the series win for Aurora.
