ONIC Philippines is currently the hottest team in the MPL Philippines, having won six straight matches, including an impressive sweep of defending champions AP.Bren.
One of ONIC’s secrets is team captain Jem “Jem” Lanojan, who steadies the ship and keeps his teammates focused in and out of the game.
“Kung makikinig ka sa ingame comms nila, most of the time, lalo na kanina first time makalaban yung Bren, excited lahat. Nung lamang, nahahype sa comms. Siya yung nagdidisiplina at nagcocontrol sa team. Inanudge niya si Jojo, inanudge niya lahat. Tapos level-headed na lahat after kumbaga,” says head coach Tony “Ynot” Senedrin on Jem.
The respect and authority that Jem has over his teammates are built from the consistency that he showed since their training camp and the improvements that he displayed over the past few months.
According to Ynot, Jem is hands down the player who showed the greatest improvement among everyone on ONIC’s current roster.
“Kung growth yung usapan, si Jem talaga yung pinakaangat sa kanilang lahat. Yun talaga, buong-buo kong masasabi yun,” shared Ynot.
Jem credits Ynot and ONIC coach Patrick “E2max” Caidic, who joined the team last December, for the new heights that he’s reached this season.
“Di naman ako mag-iimprove kung wala si Coach Ynot and si Coach E2max eh. Sila yung tumulong sakin talaga, inside and outside the game. Sila yung may pinakamalaking inambag sa akin,” Jem told Tiebreaker Times in an exclusive interview.
Despite showing a steady performance for the team, the ONIC exp laner still considers himself lacking compared to the top exp laners in the MPL Philippines.
He named Edward “Edward” Dapadap (Blacklist International), Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya (ECHO), David “FlapTzy” Canon (AP.Bren), and Nathanael “Nathzz” Estrologo (RSG Philippines) as the better exp laners in the league other than himself.
But he issued a warning to those who are still doubting his prowess in the exp lane.
“Yung mga nakukulangan pa sakin at sinasabing mababa yung hero pool ko, abangan na lang nila sa mga susunod na laban kasi di ko pa nilalabas lahat talaga eh. May tamang timing para dun. So abangan niyo na lang.”
