UAAP Season 87: Ex-pros steer the reins as La Salle claims first MLBB title
De La Salle University claimed the UAAP Season 87 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang title after a come-from-behind victory against National University, 2-1, during the Grand Finals held at the Quantum Skyview Deck, Gateway Mall 2 in Araneta City.
Paraded by ex-professional Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players, La Salle put up a comeback story of sorts, kicking off their campaign with a 1-2 loss against NU before entering the Final Four with two straight sweep wins.
They would go on to defeat the University of Santo Tomas, booking a showdown against the Bulldogs and avenging their only loss of the entire campaign in the end. La Salle’s campaign felt like a redemption arc after they missed the playoffs.
“Ito yung patunay na kaya talaga namin. Kasi nung first season, sa totoo lang parang di naman kami natalo dun eh,” Villa explained. “Nadali kami sa scoring system. Best-of-2 tapos laging 1-1 score namin. Hindi kami nakapasok ng playoffs kaya ngayon naghanda kami.
“Mas doble yung practice namin kasi alam namin na sobrang laking achievement nito. Lahat ng players kasi gusto nila ‘to kaya talagang fully committed kami ngayon,” he added.
La Salle leaned on Gabriel Sanchez (Claude), who erased a 2,000-gold deficit with a perfectly timed Blazing Duet during a 10th-minute clash for the momentum-shifting Lord. Aaron Lim’s (Kimmy) crucial double kill then leveled the series.
Lim (Kimmy) capped off La Salle’s championship run in Game 3 by scoring four consecutive kills in the late game. Lim, a former ECHO player, was named Finals MVP after delivering a masterful performance, averaging five kills and four assists while dying only once across the three-game series.
“Masaya ako (sa MVP award) pero kasi hindi naman ako mag-e-MVP kung hindi dahil sa teammates ko. Team effort siya,” he said.
(“I’m happy with the MVP award, but I wouldn’t have gotten it without my teammates. It was a team effort.”)
La Salle had a stacked lineup ahead of UAAP Season 87 Esports, acquiring ex-Mobile Legends: Bang Bang pro players to reinforce their campaign.
Kent Lopez, known as Kevier in the pro scene, played for the now-dissolved Blacklist International team in 2022, joining the likes of Kiel “Oheb” Soriano, Salic “Hadji” Imam and Edward “Edward” Jay Dapadap.
Joshua Nathaniel “Aspect” Tating also played for Laus Playbook Esports in 2022, coached by none other than MLBB hall of famer coach Brian “Panda” Lim. Aaron Lim, once known as AaronQT in the professional scene, was part of Aura PH in Season 6 and rejoined the squad when it rebranded to ECHO for Seasons 8 and 9.
The Bulldogs dominated the elimination stages, which included a must-win game against the defending champions, University of the East Zenith Esports.
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