About seven months ago, ONIC Philippines rampaged through their competition at the M6 World Championship, capturing the world title with little resistance.
The Sonics were simply a cut above the rest. But in their first match at the MLBB Midseason Cup, they were handed a reality check after falling to Aurora Turkiye.
Instead of letting the defeat shake their confidence, Duane “Kelra” Pillas shared that the loss actually reignited their hunger to win.
“After talaga namin matalo, mas nanaig yung gigil namin sa laro. Kumbaga nag-init kami. Mas umapoy yung feeling namin. Yung napag-usapan lang namin nun is bounce back lang. ‘Wag magpapekto sa talo, yung usual na ginagawa pag galing sa talo,” said Kelra in an exclusive interview with Tiebreaker Times.
True to his words, ONIC bounced back with a dominant showing in their elimination match against Area 77, sweeping the series 2-0 and looking every bit like the world-beaters they were last December.
Kelra, dubbed the “gold standard,” sealed the statement win with a thunderous triple kill in the final moments of Game 2.
“Nagising kami after nung talo namin sa Aurora,” he added.
Now wide awake and back in championship form, ONIC enters their final elimination match heavily favored against MPL Malaysia runners-up HomeBois. A win would secure their playoff spot.
If they advance, ONIC could face fellow Filipinos Team Liquid PH, Europe’s Team Spirit, Myanmar’s Mythical Seal, or Indonesia’s RRQ Hoshi in the next stage of the tournament.
