Blacklist International newly-minted captain Salic “Hadji” Imam admitted that the squad is still in the adjustment period as they try to navigate the life without their power duo Jonmar “OhmyV33nus” Villaluna and Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario.

Photo from Blacklist International

Although the squad dropped a 2-1 decision against rival Onic Philippines in the MPL Philippines Season 9 opener, the M3 World Champions still showed flashes of brilliance in their first MPL game without the iconic duo.

Hadji, for his part, admitted that he has yet to fully get the hang of leading the team as the two-time defending champions seemed lost during the crucial stretches of the match.

“Siguro sa ngayon ‘di ko pa kaya i-lead ‘yung team namin, kailangan ko pa aralin ‘yun. Kailangan makapagdesisyon agad ako ng desisyon ko para ma-lead ko sila,” admitted the soft-spoken skipper.

The MVP trio of Hadji, along with Kiel “Oheb” Soriano and Edward “Edward” Dapadap were also trying to make up for the loss of OhmyV33nus who has been the shot-caller of the squad during its title runs last year.

“Di naman siya more pressure sa akin, siguro marami lang kami kailangang i-adjust sa playstyle namin, sa comms di tulad dati na nakikinig lang kami kay Vee ngayon lahat kami nagsasalita sa shotcall,” said Oheb.

“Nagcocontribute kami lahat sa gagawin namin compared dati na one shot call lang,” Edward added.

Even Blacklist rookie Kent “Kevier” Lopez was still adjusting to the professional scene as he also had to battle rookie jitters in his first match.

“Game 1, syempre nervous kasi first game ng MPL tapos Game 2 parang nawawala na ng kaunti tapos tinitry kong gawin yung best ko,” he narrated.

“Nung Game 3, dun nawala yung kaba ko e nung nanalo ng Game 2 kaya parang ako yung nagbuhat sa Blacklist nung Game 3,” he added.

Blacklist vowed to bounce back in the upcoming matches as it also tries to find the winning combination in term of its drafts.

Interestingly, Blacklist also seemed to explore different drafts in its first game, playing their own version of the Estes-centered composition in Game 1 before utilizing hard tanks in Hilda and Ruby as well as surprise picks in EXP lane Dyrroth.

“Nag aadjust palang kami kasi parang bagong team kami eh,” said Hadji.


Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/19/mvp-trio-admits-blacklist-still-adjusting-to-the-absence-of-v33wise/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mvp-trio-admits-blacklist-still-adjusting-to-the-absence-of-v33wise)