AFTER GOING unblemished right before the Finals, the UST Teletigers Esports Club flumped to a silver finish in the first-ever UAAP Mobile Legends: Bang Bang championship on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The UE Zenith Warriors dashed the Teletigers’ hopes for the crown via a stunning sweep, 2-0, at Areté, Ateneo de Manila University.
Despite losing the first affair with the Teletigers, the Zenith Warriors displayed their poise to command the tempo in the best-of-three series.
The two teams had an early clash to kickstart the bout as Teletiger Wayne Valentino’s Roger took the first Turtle. But it was the Zenith Warriors who gained the upper hand in the long team-fight, 5-4.
Putting heavy pressure on the first Lord, UE pushed the middle lane and went deep, 9-7. However, UST stood its ground after collecting four kills led by Valentino to tie the match, 11-all.
Jungler Valentino continued to showcase his prowess by accumulating a maniac. In an attempt to have a savage kill, Warrior Ariel Dolar’s Lancelot shut down Valentino, halting the Teletigers’ momentum, 16-15.
Right before the 16-minute mark, the Recto-based squad took advantage of the clearance and marched down the middle to hand the España-based squad its first defeat, 19-17.
The second match saw a tighter battle as the Teletigers punched two straight kills initiated by a hit from Rammuell Belga’s Hylos to tie the match, 8-all.
Up 11-9 at the 12-minute mark, the top-seeded UST gambled to charge the middle ground.
The red-hot UE composed of John Chavez, Arohn Cabigting, John Bartolo, Ariel Dolar, Ryan-Ver Federizo and Elijah Vilaray then exploited the window by overturning the deficit with four consecutive kills and a final charge inside, 13-11.
Mid-laner Chavez steered UE to victory, receiving Finals MVP honors for his performance.
“[W]e were in the holding area for around one to two hours crying, because we felt like we let down the Thomasian community… It hurts more that out of all the games in this tournament, we lost in the Finals,” Teletigers’ team captain Arjohn Roxas told The Flame.
“[N]ext season we want to repeat what we did this season… I’m sorry for letting all of the Thomasians down but the one thing that I’ll promise is that as long as I’m part of Teletigers MLBB, we’ll always strive to go for gold,” Roxas added.
The Teletigers featured Roxas, Valentino, Angel Saliuan, Benjamin Lukban, Belga and Jose Odfina.
Rounding out the podium were the FEU Tamaraws Esports and the NU Bulldogs who shared bronze.
The Teletigers brought home three podium finishes in all the inaugural UAAP esports tournament games. F
