GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Coach Ducky looks back on MPL Season 13 finals loss: 'We cannot win everything'
For a team that is used to winning, losing a championship series in a lopsided manner may have felt like a bizarre thing.
In the case of Falcons AP.Bren, though, surrendering the MPL title to a deserving foe such as Team Liquid Echo may be an opportunity to show the world the team's capability to recover and improve moving forward.
"That basically boils down to your cultural setting. So from the get-go, sinabi ko na sa mga bata talaga na they really cannot win everything," coach Francis "Ducky" Glindro said during the MSC media day, just a month after they absorbed an uncharacteristic 4-0 loss to Echo in the MPL Season 13 grand finals.
"So there would be days na you’ll be losing so bad that you feel like quitting."
(That basically boils down to your cultural setting. From the get-go, I told my crew that they really cannot win everything. So there would be days that you'll be losing so bad that you feel like quitting.)
Coach Ducky admitted that bowing to Team Liquid Echo in a game that was very winnable for Falcons AP. Bren took a toll on them, but stressed their cultural environment within the squad has made them realize that losing is actually part of winning.
Prior to the grand finals, Falcons AP.Bren was actually the top-seeded team after closing out the regular season on top of the field with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record. They then started out the playoffs in style, sweeping and sending former champion Blacklist International to the lower bracket to set up an upper bracket finals against Echo.
However, they stumbled, falling to the lower bracket against RSG Philippines. They hurdled Raiders to reach the championship series anew, only to be swept by Echo in four games.
"At the end of the day, it’s also deeply ingrained that championships are not won by simply being there at that particular moment. But it’s basically a grind," the multi-titled tactician added.
"If we lost a series, be it in the grand finals, it doesn’t matter. A loss is a loss but the important thing is how do we bounce back from this and how do we basically improve our team from those losses."
And the best way to showcase their resiliency is in their impending campaign at the Mid-Season Cup (MSC) 2024, where they will take on equally competitive opponents right away in the group stage.
"They would be sad for probably an hour or two and they’re like ‘babawi kami’ and that’s a really good starting point," Ducky said.
Cloud9 may be an unfamiliar name in the MLBB scene, but its core isn't.
The American squad is bannered by renowned jungler Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun and Filipino gold laner Peter "Basic" Lozano, who were both part of The Valley that saw action in M4 World Championship last year.
Falcon Esports, meanwhile, is no stranger to the scene after having competed in M4, where the Burmese organization emerged as the dark horse after reaching the lower bracket quarterfinals.
Xianyou Gaming, also known as XYG, is bannered by two-time MPL champion and Filipino import Kiel "Kielvj" Cruzem.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
