Blacklist International head coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza had nothing but good words for TNC roamer Ben “Benthings” Maglaque following the Tier One-backed squad’s reverse sweep loss on Sunday night.
“For me, sobrang commendable talaga ng tank nila na si Benthings dahil for me, siya yung next generation Lusty kumbaga e.
“So, yung first generation natin na magagaling talaga na tank si Lusty, si Ch4knu, and for me siya na yung next generation na class S na tank,” BON CHAN told reporters after the loss.
Allan “Lusty” Castromayor, who has played in all MPL Philippines seasons except for the inaugurals, is without a doubt one of the best roamers that the league has ever seen.
The pride of Banga, South Cotabato won his first championship back in Season Three with ArkAngel before claiming his second one in Season Six with Bren Esports. Aside from his MPL titles, Lusty also brought glory to the country by helping the Philippines win the gold medal in the first-ever Mobile Legends: Bang Bang event in the Southeast Asian Games back in 2019.
Of course, Lusty also made history by helping Bren Esports become the first Filipino team to win a Mobile Legends: Bang Bang world title in the M2 World Championships – cementing his place as one of the best setters not just in the Philippines but in the world.
And Benthings showed glimpses of that potential, taking charge in the last two games of the series by setting up the big-time plays that allowed TNC to seal its comeback 2-1 victory.
After Blacklist International survived TNC’s siege entering the 15th minute of Game Two, the up-and-coming tank was able to catch Edward “Edward” Dapadap’s Esmeralda with the Tyrant’s Revenge and Tyrant’s Rage combo which kick-started a five-man wipe that tied the series at 1-all.
Then, in the winner-take-all Game Three, Benthings powered TNC’s snowball with a Noumenon Blast and Flicker combo entering the five-minute mark that took the life of Dexter “DEX STAR” Alaba after a successful Cryoturtle take. Kent “Kevier” Lopez’s Aulus, who tried to contest for the objective, also fell in the clash which according to BON CHAN, played a key factor in the loss.
“Sa Game Three siguro may isang maling shot call na naganap which is ayun nga, sa second turtle alam naman natin na yung hero ni Kevier ay hindi pa oras, hindi pa niya oras nung nangyari yun so kailangan talaga ibigay yung turtle,” shared BON CHAN.
“Unfortunately, cinontest namin and doon na nangyari ang disaster, doon na sila nakawala,” he added.
The 25-year-old tank out of Bataan then completed the early Game Three win in with another Noumenon Blast-Flicker combo, this time on Kiel “OHEB” Soriano’s Kimmy and Kevier during the first siege of the game.
Blacklist International team captain Salic “Hadji” Imam also commended Benthings, specifically his plays on Khufra in the series-tying Game Two.
“Ayun nga si Benthings sobrang commendable niya lalo na nung Game Three, lalo na yung Khufra set niya [nung Game Two] yun talaga yung nagpapanalo sa kanila e si Benthings,” echoed Hadji.
With their backs against the wall, BON CHAN said that the team could not afford to lose any more games as they make a last-ditch attempt to enter the playoffs.
“Yung pagkatalong ‘to ito na yung pinaka last na pagkatalo na puwede naming ma-afford. Hindi na uli kami puwedeng matalo sa mga susunod na matches pero ‘pag nangyari yun, it doesn’t mean na wala na kaming pag asa sa playoffs,” said the world champion coach.
“Pag natalo pa kami ng isang beses, hawak na ng ibang team yung buhay namin para makapasok sa playoffs.”
