The Rise of Nexplay Evos: Coach Zico Shares His Thoughts
Nexplay Evos has always been one of the fan-favorite teams of the league. With local influencer Setsuna “Dogie” Ignacio part of the squad, creating high-profile player personalities like Renejay “Renejay” Barcarse and John Paul “H2wo” Salonga through content creation came with ease.
Holding the position of Head Coach of Nexplay Evos for the 9th Season of MPL-Philippines is John Michael “Zico” Dizon who shares the same mindset as his players when it comes to making themselves known through content and match results.
You could often catch Zico doing Tiktok challenges with his players, tweeting his thoughts around Twitter, and sharing his life as head coach in his Youtube channel.
Despite all the cameras pointed at him, Coach Zico still makes sure that he fulfills his duty as head coach. Results never lie–and ever since their disappointing first round playoffs exit in MPL-Philippines S7, NXPE had only risen by taking 4th place in MPL-Philippines S8, and 1st-runner up for SIBOL 2022 National Team Selection.
via Nexplay Esports
Utilizing All 10 Players
In a MOBA game where only 5 players could play at a given game, substitutes find it hard to receive playing time. With MPL-Philippines changing into a franchise league during their 8th season, several teams fielded 10-man rosters–with many of their substitutes receiving little to no playing time at all.
This season, Nexplay Evos fielded a 10-man roster where every player could pose a different type of threat to any given matchup.
“I really find it hard–but in a good way tho, I can’t pick who will play because any of them can fight whoever our opponent is,” Coach Zico states.
“I am still not satisfied because we are only trying different line ups for the first 2 weeks,” he says when asked about his feelings regarding their success. “I think we can unleash more of our potential in the 2nd half of the regular season,” he adds, hinting that they are still currently working on some kinks in the roster.
Hungry Rookies, Sharper Minds
“All of the rookies have their eagerness to win, no toxic and bad attitude comes in our way and we talk about the game every time we are together” Zico says.
“Also, I have an amazing set of coaching staff that’s why I think we can get better than last season,” he adds, emphasizing that he’s not alone in his quest to give Nexplay Evos the tools to find the elusive MPL-Philippines championship.
Despite the moderate amount of success Nexplay Evos found in the first few weeks of MPL-Philippines, Coach Zico says “We are excited to face every team because for me we are all even. We all practice to win and to be better.” respecting the effort of all teams inside the league.
Nexplay Evos once again have amazed the crowd of MPL-Philippines with their improvement. With another big step towards what could be the championship winning lineup of Nexplay Evos, Coach Zico and their deeply connected fanbase joins the players in their journey to fulfill their dreams.
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