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It’s been quite the first four weeks for Aurora’s coach MtB, as he and his boys are sitting pretty at the top of the standings in MPL PH S16. Despite uncertainties in the beginning, Aurora Gaming has come out ahead in the preseason, and they only changed one player.
Coach Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani has spoken before on the difficulties the team faced ahead of season 16. Between the lack of quality practice and overseas obligations, Aurora was coming in with tempered expectations.
It was shaky at first, but now Aurora are brighter than ever, and that’s thanks to them trusting the process.
“Ever since may tiwala ako sa sistema na binuo namin,” said Aurora’s coach MtB. “I think yung advantage namin ngayon is every season nagi-improve yung sistema na yon. And isa sa pinaka-malaking tulong sa pagpabilis ng improvement namin is yung experience namin sa [Esports World Cup].”
Recall that the coaching staff of Aurora Philippines were called to help their Turkish team for the 2025 Mid Season Cup during the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia. While this did cause headaches for the PH squad, it seems it ended up helping them in the long run. The coaching staff returned with new ideas on how to improve their current system after interacting with a completely different set of players.
“Iba talaga yung culture doon,” continued Aurora’s coach MtB. “Yung natutunan namin, yung mindset ng mga players – ibang-iba talaga. I think isang reason talaga yun bakit mabilis mag-improve yung sistema and mga players namin.”
Sidegrade or Upgrade?
That being said, we can’t talk about Aurora’s rise this season without mentioning Dylan “Light” Catipon.
Coming in as the replacement to star Roamer Renejay Barcase, many initially thought Light would be a sidegrade at best. Now there’s an argument to be made that he might be the better fit for the team. When asked for his opinion, coach MtB had a fairly pragmatic answer.
“To me, lahat ng mga players ay pantay-pantay sa professional scene. Magkakaiba sila ng mga strengths pero bawat player ay may kanya-kanyang sariling strengths. So iba yung playstyle namin with Renejay – iba yung structure, yung sistema. Tapos nung dumating si Light, kailangan namin bumuo ng sistema na kasama si Light.”
Many elements and factors go into the making of a successful team, and no team handles this the same way. At the end of the day, it’s the coach’s job to make it all work.
“Kumbaga hindi siya ‘sino mas-magaling sa kanila?’” said Aurora’s coach MtB. “It’s about ‘paano namin maa-activate yung players namin?’ Bilang coach, kailangan namin magawa ng way para mapagana sila.”
And on that front, coach MtB gives props to Light for helping make it all work. While usually there’s an adjustment period when a new player joins a team, Light practically fits with Aurora like a glove.
“Willing talaga siya mag-adjust this season… Madali siya kausapin, susunod siya pag may sinabi ka, sinasabi niya yung ideas niya. Open siya sa buong team kaya yun yung reason bakit mabilis naging close yung team.”
Banner photo from MOONTON Games.