Despite suffering its third consecutive loss, Blacklist International head coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza shared that they have no plans to bring back roamer Salic “Hadji” Imam to his old jungler role.
“No, dahil mahihirapan si Hadji ‘pag bumalik siya ng jungle,” said BON CHAN.
Hadji previously led Omega Esports to a respectable 5th-6th place finish in the M2 World Championship as jungler. According to BON CHAN, he has already made strides in both the position four and five roles.
Since transitioning to a utility role, Hadji has helped Blacklist International win the MPL Philippines Season Eight title and eventually, the M3 World Championship. The sudden shift back to the jungler role will impede his development, said the veteran strategist.
“So kung ilalagay natin siya sa jungle… Unang una, kailangan niya ng matagal na panahaon para magamay uli yung jungle, yung rotation ng jungler,” explained BON CHAN.
“Pinapahirapan niyo naman si Hadji,” he quipped.
Aside from that, Hadji is also set to man the middle for the SIBOL national team that will represent the Philippines in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. And a return to the jungle spot might ruin the team’s dynamics.
“Maglalari siya sa SIBOL as [position] four and [position] five. So, ‘pag balik niya ng SIBOL at nag jungle siya, kailangan na naman niyang mag adjust para maging four at five,” the player-turned-coach said.
“So hindi siya possible.”
A tragic MPL Philippines Season Nine opening week saw them drop their first two assignments. Following that, the back-to-back defending champions once again failed to enter the win column, losing to Nexplay EVOS via a 1-2 result.
Clearly, Blacklist International is still reeling from the loss of jungler Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario and skipper Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna.
But Blacklist International is planning to stick with what they have – hoping that the team can turn around its fortunes mid-season.
The Tier One-powered squad is currently at the sixth spot. It has three points through a 0-3 standing.
Blacklist International will take on ECHO on Sunday at 4:00 PM.
