After a tough end to their MPL season, Bren Esports’ coach Ducky shares his thoughts on the upcoming SEA games.
Bren Esports, helmed by coach Francis “Ducky” Glindro, are representing the Philippines for Mobile Legends in the 2023 SEA games. With a top finish in the MPL regular season, things were looking good for the Sibol team.
Unfortunately, they had a less than stellar finish to their MPL season, ending in fourth after losing to Blacklist International and eventual MPL S11 champions ECHO. Despite the setback, Coach Ducky doesn’t feel like these losses will hamper the team for the SEA games. “I don’t think it has much of an impact in terms of our preparations for sea games,” said Coach Ducky to the media after their loss to Blacklist.
The leader of Bren, however, was frustrated by the tight schedule that was placed on him and his team. “I can only hope that next time around, if there are future teams that are going to be participating in the sea games, di sana ganito ang mangyari sa kanila.”
The SEA games men’s Mobile Legends matches start on May 12 while the MPL PH S11 playoffs end on May 7. This leaves May 9 as the earliest time the team can leave for Cambodia. “We were given a day though, so we can only be thankful na may isang araw kami to breath.”
Beyond the SEA games, Bren Esports will also be competing in the 2023 International Esports Federation (IESF) World Esports Championship. The Asia and Oceania division of IESF is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 10.
When asked if the prospect of back-to-back tournaments is taking a toll on the team’s performance, he expressed, “It’s the scheduling that I’m really disappointed about. I’m not making excuses by the way. I’m just saying this could have been done better in terms of scheduling. But fatigue? No, kasi gustong-gusto nila [the team] maglaro.”
As for how they feel after their loss to ECHO: “we’ll definitely use this for fueling yung fire ng mga bata. Kasi pag natalo, nagigigil at gusto makabawi so we’ll use that positively.”
“So right now I’ll give them time to chill, to gather themselves, because we’re still not done,” said coach Ducky as he knows that keeping the Sibol team’s confidence despite the losses is paramount. “Focus lang sa harap – tapos na yan, eh. Nasa likod na,” as the coach constantly tells his team. “Ang laban ay nasa harap.”
Want to catch the 2023 SEA games Mobile Legends action? Then check out their official Youtube and Facebook page.
Banner photo courtesy of MPL PH.
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