A strong finish to the regular season might be a good omen for the next one.
MPL PH S15 ended with a banger for AP.Bren’s Der and team, as they had one final clash with Team Falcons PH and their M5 World Champions roster. After being eliminated from playoff contention, AP.Bren let everything go for their last match of the season and took down the world champions 2-1.
It was an impressive, yet bittersweet, end to Landher “Der” San Gabriel’s first season with AP.Bren. As one of the more experienced members on the team, he couldn’t help but feel that there were a lot of missed opportunities this season and he expressed as much after their match with Team Falcons.
“Okay naman pero may regrets din,” said AP.Bren’s Der. “Yung dapat naming gusto gawin, kung kailan huli na siyaka lang namin nagawa. Siguro kung nagawa namin to sa umpisa, baka makaka-qualify kami sa playoffs.”
There was a lot of hype for the team as their roster was the season four MDL champions. But it’s evidently clear that there’s a massive gulf of differences and difficulties between the developmental and professional leagues. One that’s often brought up is the inability to translate practice onto the stage.
“Siguro kasi sa scrims, wala kaming pressure,” said AP.Bren’s Der when asked about their struggles. “Kumbaga, yung ano lang dapat gawin ng team, yun lang ginagawa nila kaya malinis sa scrims. Dun sa stage, siyempre marami nanonood, meron din yung mga bashers. Yun talaga yung number one reason bakit hindi namin nagagawa yung laro namin.”
Hopes For the Next Season
And with the pressure gone since they were out of the playoffs, AP.Bren looked like their old selves. While he would have wanted the team to play this confidently over the course of the season, Der thinks this win can prepare them for season 16.
“Good sign siya kasi ito yung mga bagay na kailangan namin i-work out. Yung tournament experience na nakuha namin this season, yun yung idadala namin kung kami pa rin next season.”
Of course, there’s no guarantee that the roster will stay together for next season. However, this iteration of AP.Bren has gone through their trial by fire, and while it’s taken them a while, they might be finally ready to truly show what they’ve got and challenge the MPL.
Banner photo from MOONTON Games.