ONIC Philippines boasts one of the most explosive line-ups, comprising players who have either been candidates or winners of the Rookie-of-the-Season Awards in the past.
However, they also share another common ground: none of them have reached the top four in the last four seasons.
Despite being a young team, they were able to quickly build chemistry, which was instrumental in defeating RSG Philippines, who welcomed back Jonard “Demonkite” Caranto and Clarense “Kousei” Camilo after their stellar performances in MPL Malaysia and MPL Cambodia, respectively, last season.
“Nung unang practice namin parang nagpapaanu-han pa kami nun eh, pasikat ganun. Puro tiktok moves lalo si Super K (KingKong). Si K pasok lang basta maka four blades kahit mamatay, okay lang,” shared Duane “Kelra” Pillas.
“Pero ayun yun pinakauna naming inayos eh, yung showtime. Ayun talaga kasi parang ayun lang talaga yung nakikitang problema eh. Sa pindutan siguro ahead kami sa iba para sakin.”
According to Kelra, they have already built a solid foundation as a team in their short time together.
For King “K1NGKONG” Perez, this was crucial in their victory against RSG on Sunday.
“Yung pagtetreat sa bawat isa na parang family member, dinala namin sa in-game. Kumbaga kahit sa laro po walang iwanan, walang maiiwan. Kumbaga sabay sabay po lahat para walang maiiwan sa mga gustong gawing play,” said ONIC’s jungler.
Head coach Tony “Ynot” Senedrin agrees.
“We believe our individual thoughts matter to each other. Nandun na yung level eh. As King mentioned, it’s not just the team eh. Kahit ganun pa lang yung pagsasama namin ilang buwan, we consider each other family na eh.”
A team that considers each other family will always go a long way.
