RSG PH to let all 7 of its MPL players suit up for Season 13

Coach Brian “Panda” Chang-rok says, RSG Philippines will let all seven players strengthen the Raiders’ campaign to win the MPL Philippines Season 13 crown.

Speaking to reporters after their post-match press conference Saturday night, Coach Panda said he wanted to move away from just using all of his main five players in a bid to make sure everyone gets an equal opportunity to find themselves playing for the biggest MLBB pro league in the country. 

“This season, gusto ko talaga baguhin yung [I really want to change] opportunity where I can also use my sub players,” Coach Panda told the press.

Currently, RSG Philippines fields two returning members as part of their lineup: Jonard “Demonkite” Caranto and Clarense “Kusey” Camilo, alongside stalwarts Dylan “Light” Catipon, Arvie “Aqua” Antonio, Patrick “rTzy” Lim and rookie Jhondy “Nibor” Ranque.

“Of course there is a downside na ifo-focus yung seven players, nase-spread yung focus mo sa players. But again, i’m willing to take that risk and accept that opportunity so that all the team, including me, will grow together,” Coach Panda said.

[TRANSLATION: Of course, there is a downside that seven players will be focused on, so your focus will also be spread out.] 

And in their debut match, Coach Panda said letting Nibor play in the exp lane worked wonders for both their newest asset, and the entire team.

“Si Nibor today, he actually really shined. He’s only 15 years old. Never sya naka-experience ng MDL. Amateur bootcamp lang, 1 or 2 months lang when he was bata pa, and he came to MPL agad. Tapos unang laban ng RSG, nakalaro siya tapos he played really well pa. So again, now I can see that new opportunities means new chances for growing more as a team,” Coach Panda said.

[TRANSLATION: Nibor actually really shined today. He’s only 15. He never experienced playing in the MDL (MLBB Development League), only in amateur bootcamps. He only had 1-2 months of playing time when he was young and he immediately came to the MPL. And in their first match as RSG, he was able to play – and played really well.]

 

“IT’S OKAY TO MAKE MISTAKES” – COACH PANDA

Part of how Coach Panda trains the new players in his team like Nibor is, he says, trying to remove the fear of making mistakes and encouraging them to put their performance in scrimmages to the ultimate test in pro-level play.

“Uhm, siguro yung mga bagong players lalo na yung gaya ni Nibor, siguro yung concern nya is, takot siyang magkamali. Kasi tournament ito, eh. Hindi scrim lang. Kaya sabi ko, okay lang to make mali. Okay lang kahit 10 deaths ka, okay lang mag 0-2, basta the journey continues on. Ganito yung isipin mo – parang meron kang sariling mundo tapos you’re just playing inside your kwarto lang. Tapos all you need to do is to listen to your teammates playing online lang sa Discord. And then, just tapangan mo. Huwag kang matakot magkamali. That’s what he did.”

[TRANSLATION: Maybe the new players like Nibor, they are concerned about making mistakes because this is a tournament. Not a scrimmage. I tell them, “it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay even if you have 10 deaths or score 0-2, as long as the journey continues on. Think of it this way – think of when you’re just playing in your own world, inside your room and all you need to do is to listen to your teammates playing online on Discord. And then, just be strong. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s what he did.]

While admitting Nibor could have played better, Coach Panda says, his rookie played really well, noting that despite some errors and being over-aggressive, he was indeed able to match up to the veterans in the field.

The next challenge now for Coach Panda and the Raiders is to how to ride on the current momentum by translating their scrimmage performances into wins in the MPL Philippines stage.

“I’m going to take new measures in the future how to make my players translate their performance sa scrims to the tournament because one of the reasons why I feel we couldn’t dominate sobra is because parang, too much hesitation, too much ingat, too much calculation during the tournament, kesa sa scrims na palung-palo. Go, go go. Ngayon, asan to? Pwede ba to? Tara na? Eh di go, parang ganoon kasi,” Coach Panda said.

[TRANSLATION: One of the reasons why I feel we couldn’t dominate too much is because there’s too much hesitation, too much caution, too much calculation during the tournament, unlike in scrims where we go all out, go, go go. Now, it’s like, “where is this?” “Is this okay?” “Shall we?” “Then, go!”. It became like that.]