De La Salle University successfully avenged its group stage loss to National University, mounting a comeback to pull off a 2-1 reverse sweep in the grand finals and clinch the championship of the UAAP Season 87 Esports: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Tournament, Friday at the Quantum Skyview Deck, Gateway Mall 2 in Araneta City.
La Salle head coach Kenneth Villa expressed his relief in finally overcoming last season’s heartbreak, where the team missed the playoffs despite being tagged as one of the favorites to win it all.
“Ito yung patunay na kaya talaga namin. Kasi nung first season, sa totoo lang parang di naman kami natalo dun eh,” Villa explained. “Nadali kami sa scoring system. Best-of-2 tapos laging 1-1 score namin. Hindi kami nakapasok ng playoffs kaya ngayon naghanda kami.
“Mas doble yung practice namin kasi alam namin na sobrang laking achievement nito. Lahat ng players kasi gusto nila ‘to kaya talagang fully committed kami ngayon,” he added.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
La Salle finished with three draws in the group stage of the previous season and mustered only three points to place third in the group stages behind eventual champion University of the East who had four points.
After dropping the opening game of the finals, La Salle leaned on Gabriel Sanchez (Claude), who erased a 2,000-gold deficit with a perfectly timed Blazing Duet during a 10th-minute clash to secure the Lord and shift momentum.
Ryu Godoy (Gatotkaca) followed it up with a brilliant use of Avatar of the Guardian during a 15th-minute siege on NU’s base turret, setting up Aaron Lim’s (Kimmy) crucial double kill to level the series.
Joshua Tating (Suyou) then carried La Salle’s momentum into Game 3, initiating a third-minute ambush that netted him a double kill, followed by a successful Turtle take at the fourth minute, giving the Taft-based squad firm control of the early game.
Lim (Kimmy) capped off La Salle’s championship run by scoring four consecutive kills late in the 15th minute to complete the title-clinching push.
Lim was named Finals MVP after delivering a masterful performance, averaging five kills and four assists while dying only once across the three-game series.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“Masaya ako (sa MVP award) pero kasi hindi naman ako mag-e-MVP kung hindi dahil sa teammates ko. Team effort siya,” said the former ECHO stalwart about his accolade.
In the group stage, La Salle suffered from a 2-1 loss at the hands of NU before completing back-to-back sweeps to enter the medal rounds.
La Salle then eliminated the previously undefeated University of Santo Tomas in the semifinals, while National University secured its finals slot by defeating Far Eastern University.
The Bulldogs also had a strong showing with a 3-0 sweep in the eliminations, including a crucial victory over defending champions University of the East Zenith Esports that secured their place in the playoffs.
