Blacklist International head coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza finally shed light on the non-inclusion of Dominic “Dominic” Soto, Howard “Owl” Gonzales, and Russel “Eyon” Usi in the team’s MPL Philippines Season 10 roster, Saturday.
Indeed, it was a tough call for the two-time MPL champion coach.
But he stressed that the team’s main five composed of Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario, Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna, Edward “EDWARD” Dapadap, Kiel “OHEB” Soriano, and Salic “Hadji” Imam are currently the best in their respective roles.
So, putting the three amateur standouts in the line-up would only do more harm in their respective careers than good as they would stay mostly on the bench.
“Future plans para sa kanila? Honestly, the reason kung bakit hindi namin sila sinama sa roster is dahil… mabigat din para sa amin yung desisyon na yun dahil alam natin na yung main five, para sa akin, sila yung the best of the best sa kani-kanilang roles,” said BON CHAN during the Blacklist Protocol event.
“So, ayoko na masayang yung talent nung SIBOL boys na nasa reserve lang.”
That, however, does not mean that the three are already out of the Tier One-backed squad’s lair. BON CHAN, later on, hinted that the management has plans for all three players moving forward.
“So as much as possible, magamit namin sila hindi ‘man sa MPL pero sa ibang tournaments. Nire-ready na namin sila,” BON CHAN revealed.
Blacklist International picked up Dominic and Owl to reinforce OhMyV33NUS, Wise, and Hadji for the SIBOL qualifiers last January. Eyon, on the other hand, was added to the team after the qualifiers.
The two played great alongside the Blacklist International trio, helping them land a spot in the SIBOL national team before eventually winning it all in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Completing the team’s roster for Season 10 are holdovers Dexter “DEX STAR” Alaba, Mark “ESON” Gerardo, and Kent “Kevier” Lopez.
