THE UST Teletigers Esports Club crushed the Ateneo Blue Eagles via sweep, 2-0, in the UAAP Season 87 esports Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament, at the Gateway Mall 2, Quantum Skyview, on Thursday, May 15.
With this victory, UST remains flawless at a 3-0 slate and will head into the Final Four. Ateneo suffered its third loss, 0-3.
Teletiger Juliann Ortega relentlessly targeted Blue Eagle’s Zisu Nera using Fanny’s burst damage and movement to secure an early game advantage.
UST started to build its momentum after Arjohn Roxas’ Chou blasted a decisive play and a well-timed Way of the Dragon. Roxas supported Matt Cañarejo’s Hilda for a triple kill, extending the Teletigers’ lead to six, 10-4.
However, Ateneo capitalized on UST’s aggressive push and found a way to pick off two players, cutting the lead to 10-6.
In the dying seconds of the first match, Denmar Balingit’s Zhu Xhin executed an ultimate to seal the deal for UST, 22-10.
Ortega was named the match’s MVP after scoring 10 kills, two deaths and three assists.
In the second match, the Blue Eagles regrouped and deployed the ultimate bonding experience or UBE strategy, marking its first appearance in the series. However, UST disrupted Ateneo’s short attempt by sticking with their burst heroes.
The Blue Eagles quickly executed a four-man rotation on the gold lane to put pressure on Teletiger’s marksman Benjamin Lukban. But UST responded with a mirror rotation and secured an early advantage, 6-0.
“We already anticipated how they are going to play the map… since they have a utility-based composition and need to react to what we do and we were able to prepare,” Teletiger captain Arjohn Roxas told The Flame.
Midway through the game, Ortega dominated the sidelane clash with a late entry to finish Ateneo’s remaining heroes, 9 -3.
Ateneo rallied behind Angelo Olvida’s Estes, securing three kills during a team fight and managed to trim the deficit, 8-9. In the final moments, UST mounted a comeback and closed out the match with a five-point lead, 18-13.
Lukban was hailed as the MVP with Irithel after delivering six kills, one death and 11 assists.
“We’re feeling pretty confident, but we shouldn’t get it over our heads that we are undefeated. Our mindset coming into tomorrow’s game is that the group stage means nothing if we don’t come away with a medal,” Roxas said.
According to Roxas, he and his teammates know they can be beaten, but they believe they can beat anyone, especially when they’re not worried about staying undefeated.
The Teletigers will face the winner between the Adamson Esports team and FEU Tamaraws Esports for the semifinals match on Friday, May 16, at the same venue. F
