MPL PH: AP Bren, Minana EVOS clash in 3rd longest game in MPL Philippines history

Philippine MLBB fans witnessed a masterclass in competitive Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Sunday night between two famed teams: reigning MPL and World Champions AP Bren and what many called Season 13’s darkhorse: Minana EVOS.

The Bees won, 2-0, but not without a fight that became the third-longest game in MPL Philippines history, and a pick from Minana EVOS that also made history on its own.

INSTANT CLASSIC: Scenes during the nearly 35-minute Game 1 match between MNNE and APBR. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MOONTON GAMES)

 

In the almost 35-minute instant classic Game 1 between Minana EVOS and AP Bren, both teams had pretty much fought over six Lord dances – and Minana EVOS even came close to pulling off what could have been the offset of the season (or of the year) by coming close to leveling AP Bren’s base.

Minana EVOS’s Dominic “Domeng” del Mundo dealt 8 kills and 5 assists for the purple-and-black squad, who gave the champions a run for their money.

However, after the sixth Lord appeared, Domeng was finally taken down by the world champion trio of Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo, Marco “Super Marco” Requitiano, and Michael “KyleTzy” Sayson.

After what happened, Minana EVOS tried to heavily defend their base – taking down almost everyone except Owgwen, who ended the game with a surprise tower lock.

Game 1’s run of 34 minutes and 31 seconds was only surpassed by two other games in MPL Philippines history, both of which came from Season 5: the 36-minute Game 3 of the Finals match between ONIC Philippines and Sunsparks, and the 54-minute thriller between ONIC Philippines and SGD Omega. 

“In Game 1, we had a hard time against Minana because we were able to give [Spider-]Milez utility heroes,” Owgwen told reporters post-match. “We felt we were able to match up to them – and we did, but we also had errors, that’s why we had difficulty in that first game.”

Owgwen added, “in the last moment of Game 1, I took my time because ‘Lo [APBR team captain Angelo “Pheww” Arcangel] said, ‘tower lock, tower lock!’ I saw that there were no creeps yet. So I cleared the creeps by myself so Marco can tower lock it. However, Marco died. So I tower locked it all by myself. But I felt [at the time] that I can finish it.”

“After that game, we were all hungry to bounce back,” Minana EVOS Coach Christian “Bitoy” Casten told reporters in the post-match press conference. “They didn’t feel down because Game 1 was supposed to be theirs. When they lost, they also didn’t lose their morale. It even made them even more determined to bounce back.”

TIME TO SHINE: Layla was finally picked after 13 seasons of MPL Philippines. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MOONTON GAMES)

 

By Game 2, Coach Bitoy and the Hukbo (EN: Army) picked Layla for Domeng, which made history by itself as the hero, who is usually associated with beginner MLBB players, has been picked for pro play for the first time ever in MPL Philippines history.

However, this historic pick was silenced by no less than Pheww himself, as Super Marco contributed the other six kills for the Bees to seal the deal in half the time of Game 1.

Minana EVOS will drop to a 1-3 win-loss record while AP Bren remains undefeated at 4-0. Minana will face off against RSG Philippines and Smart Omega, while AP Bren will face off against ECHO and Smart Omega in week 3 of the regular season. Matches will be paused for a week due to the observance of Holy Week in the predominantly-Catholic country.