During the opening week of MPL Philippines Season 13, AP.Bren head coach Francis “Duckeyy” Glindro was asked which team he considers the dark horse this season, and he did not hesitate to cite MINANA Evos.
It was well justified, as MINANA looked impressive in their 2-0 sweep against TNC Pro team before settling for a 2-1 loss at the hands of Blacklist International in a highly competitive series in Week 1.
They also almost took the opener against AP.Bren but proceeded to stumble to three straight losses, all via sweeps.
“Siguro po nagkakaproblema kami sa chemistry po ngayon. Hopefully in the next match, mas mapakita namin yung pinapractice namin sa scrims,” explained MINANA jungler Ken “Kzen” Pile regarding their recent woes.
He further added that their close and lengthy matches against Blacklist and AP.Bren became a factor in how other teams analyzed their gameplay.
“Feel ko naging factor din po yun kasi after ng games na yun, syempre ire-replay nila yun at pag-aaralan nilang mabuti,” Kzen said.
“Iwe-work out nila yun tapos paghahandaan nila kami pero pinapangako namin na magiging unpredictable na kami sa susunod na laban.”
Kzen admits Duckeyy’s statement was flattering but at the same time also serves as a challenge for his team.
“Nakakaoverwhelm. Syempre galing po yun sa isang well-respected na coach at marami ring pinachampion. Gagawin po naming motivation yun. Hopefully ma-apply namin lahat ng natutunan namin sa kanila. Sa mga susunod na laban, sana maging matagumpay na.”
MINANA will look to end their slump on April 7 against Smart Omega.
