MLBB: TNC Pro Team head coach Benthings remains optimistic despite opening week losses

Ben “Benthings” Maglaque is taking his tips from the social media space to the actual MPL stage.

While their inaugural week in MPL Philippines Season 13 was rough – including two losses against Minana EVOS and reigning MPL PH champions AP Bren – Coach Benthings prefers to keep things cool and real, even as he talked to reporters.

When asked about what he thought was the reason behind their 0-2 opening week, he said, “nagkukulang kami more on comms, and para ma-overcome yung pressure (we lack more on comms and overcoming pressure).”

This was evident in their Day 3 of Week 1 match vs APBR, where they were able to try and win against AP Bren in the early game, but failed to garner traction on that momentum.

“Tapos may bumitaw lang dun sa usual na ginagawa namin sa practices, yung mga alam namin na dapat gagawin sa isang pangyayari. Sa mental fortitude na yun, kung paano namin maeexecute yung bagay na iyon,” Coach Benthings told reporters.

[TRANSLATION: Someone slipped from what we usually do in practices, the things we should have known in an event. It’s in the mental fortitude to determine how we can execute that thing.]

He does admit though, sometimes, players can tend to forget even the most intricate of strategies.

“Dumadating yung time na nakakalimutan, ganoon, nadisgrasya, lalo na yung last turtle, feeling ko winning moment na namin yon,” Coach Benthings said about that game with AP Bren.

[TRANSLATION: There comes a time when you tend to forget, and then something happens – especially in the last turtle, when we felt like it was our winning moment.]

Benthings, a TNC Pro Team stalwart since 2021, may have never won an MPL Championship so far in his MPL career. But he is using that fuel to win big to help his team in the most difficult of situations.

Benthings’ head coaching stint comes after three straight seasons of him being a pro player for the Phoenix Army – a feat that does not come lightly.

TNC Pro Team’s best finish so far was in Season 9 – where they finished third place in the playoffs. Since Season 10, the team has been dead last in the MPL standings.

In his first interview with the esports press as the Phoenix Army’s head coach last March 15th, Benthings said that the job of a coach in a pro league of MPL Philippines’ caliber is no mean feat. 

“Siguro expectations ko, parang ang hirap maging coach. Ang dami mong iintindihing players,” he says, going on to say that he’s happy his players right now aren’t that hard to draft, calling their drafting phases.

[TRANSLATION: I am expecting its hard to be a coach. You need to take care of many players.]

When asked about how he motivates his team as a coach, he says, “it’s okay to make mistakes while growing up, yun yung pinaka natutunan namin. Parang, wag kayong matakot magkamali. Kasi kapag natakot kayong magkamali, di na kayo magtatake ng risks eh. Parang kanina, yung nangyari lang sa Game 1 [MNNE vs TNC March 15], di kami nagtake ng risk, ayun, natalo kami.”

[Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The moment you become afraid of making mistakes, you won’t take risks anymore. Just like what happened in Game 1, we did not take risks, that why we lost.]

“Sa chemistry, hindi na namin siya problem. Ang ganda ng chemistry namin [Chemistry is no longer a problem. Our chemistry is good],” Coach Benthings added.

Currently, hopes are high for this new iteration of the TNC Pro Team, with Dean “Raizen” Sumagui and Jaylord “Hate” Gonzales among those leading the charge, alongside Christian “HEADS” Morada, Robee “Ninjakilla” Pormocille, Jetson “Goyo” Ignacio, Nomed, and Czedrick “Yoshinu” Romero.

Coach Benthings attributes this to regular team building sessions within the team, which he jokingly says, “sabi nga ng boss namin, ni sir Eric, nakabuo na kami ng 7 floor na building na e, kaka team building!”

[TRANSLATION: Our boss, sir Eric, said we can already create a 7-floor building due to regular team building sessions!]

And while this 0-2 start may be worrisome for many in the MLBB community, the veteran roamer-turned-head tactician keeps things optimistic.

“Proud ako sa kanila kasi yung unang salang palang nila, ang ganda na ng performance unlike yung mga last season kasi, parang unang laban pa lang, ramdam namin na ang daming kulang. Ngayon, lilinisin na lang yung first two weeks namin. Parang “sacrifice week”, tapos next week, abangan ninyo, mas maganda pa yung laro namin,” Benthings said in their March 17th post-match presser.

[TRANSLATION: I’m proud of them because in their first outing, they had a great performance unlike last season where you can feel that something’s lacking in the first match. Now, we will just clean up our first two weeks. It’s a sacrifice week, then next week, just wait – we’ll have an even better game.]

“Abangan ninyo, babawi kami [just you wait, we’ll bounce back],” Benthings simply said.