Head coach Brian “Panda” Lim made the ultimate sacrifice for RSG PH prior to the team’s campaign in the 2022 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup.
Given the small window of preparation after the MSC, the two-time MPL champion coach decided to divide responsibilities between him and deputy Karl “Giee” Barrientos in order to produce the best outcome for RSG PH.
Panda stayed at home and prepared for the upcoming MPL Philippines Season 10 while Giee was given the opportunity to lead the six players that will head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the regional tilt.
“Nung dumating yung MSC, parang mawawalan kami ng preparation for Season 10 e. So nag-decide kami na yung isa pupunta sa Malaysia, tapos yung isa mag-prepare for S10 para sa M4,” Giee told Tiebreaker Times after leading RSG PH to a 4-0 sweep of RRQ Hoshi in the MSC grand finals.
“Ayun, nag-sacrifice si coach [Panda].”
The Korean head coach mapped out the organization’s road to the M4 World Championships. He assessed the players’ performance in their recent title run in the MPL Philippines Season Nine, scouted for new talents that could potentially help the team, and also helped out Giee in the team’s ongoing MSC campaign.
“Siyempre the reason why I stayed in the Philippines was because we wanted to divide the work because I also need to prepare for next season, roster changes and tryouts,” said Panda during the Filipino broadcast of the MSC finals last Sunday.
It was a huge sacrifice for the former National team head coach. After all, it was supposed to be his redemption tour in the MSC following a third-place finish with ArkAngel in the 2019 edition.
“Yes, MSC is a redemption for me kasi yun yung aking last moments sa Arkangel before it disbanded,” said Panda.
“Siyempre I’m proud na proud, pero I’m already thinking M4 na. I’m not being mayabang pero gusto ko talaga step-by-step but with my team right now I can imagine unlimited, I’m so proud of them right now,” he added.
For his part, Giee is just glad to repay Panda’s trust by winning the MSC title. Moreover, he thanked his mentor for guiding him all throughout this incredible journey that saw him go toe-to-toe against the best minds in SEA ML:BB.
“I think yung sacrifices niya worth it naman kasi eto, nag-champion kami. Nag-tiwala siya sa akin na i-handle ko yung team, na kaya kong i-walkthrough yung team sa championship. So sobrang laking pasasalamat ko sa tiwala na binigay niya sakin,” Giee shared.
Panda, who was the one who brought in Giee from JNA Esports along with jungler Jhonard “Demonkite” Caranto, lauded his deputy for defying the odds and leading the organization to its first international title.
“Even though there’s so much pressure, you have to do so many changes, you were there working until 4:00 am every single night and slept only for three hours and we talked about the draft and now you adjusted it so well kahit na wala ako. Your draft is really good,” Panda shared.
“I really want to appreciate you for being there for me. Your ability to take care of the team was really, really good along with Benjamin [Lim] and Lexi [Yambao].”
