Savero: The Import Who Took Kelra’s Seat
The Philippines does not usually make room for imports.
Not in Mobile Legends. Not in the gold lane. And definitely not in the seat once occupied by Kelra, a player whose name has become shorthand for late-game inevitability. The country has spent years proving it can produce its own—its own systems, its own stars, its own champions. If anything, the region exports talent. It doesn’t import it.
Which is why Savero’s arrival feels less like a routine transfer and more like a disruption of the natural order.
Even Savero didn’t see it coming.
“I got surprised because I have to replace Kelra, and I never expected Kerla to move to ONIC ID.”
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There is no manufactured confidence in the way he says this. Just the plain acknowledgment of what the move means. Replacing a legend isn’t something you spin into a motivational quote. It’s something you absorb quietly, then deal with one scrim at a time.
Because in Philippine MLBB, the pressure rarely announces itself loudly. It sits in the background—in the expectations of a fanbase that has watched the gold lane decide championships, in the knowledge that every trade, every positioning mistake, every late-game death will be measured against the player who used to sit there.
Belonging in a Region That Didn’t Need Imports
Savero, for his part, refuses to treat the moment like a burden.
“I think not, because I got excited. I will play against so many strong teams in the Philippines.”
Excitement instead of fear. Opportunity instead of intimidation. It’s the mindset of someone who understands exactly why players come to the Philippines in the first place: not for comfort, but for competition.
If Indonesia sharpened his mechanics, the Philippines, he believes, will sharpen everything else.
“In the Philippines, it’s more technical and more disciplined,” Savero told ALL-STAR.
It’s a small line, but it hints at the adjustment ahead. The Philippine game has long been defined by structure—rotations that arrive seconds earlier than expected, team fights that feel rehearsed, late-game decisions made with almost clinical patience. Talent alone doesn’t survive here. Discipline does.
For Savero, the biggest hurdle isn’t the crowd or the comparisons. We asked him what area he thinks he will need most adjustment.
“I think the meta because in this meta, there are so many factors to consider in the gold lane and I have to adjust to that.”
Wave management. Draft priorities. Timing windows. The gold lane isn’t just about farming anymore; it’s about reading the entire map while pretending your world is only that strip of land between two turrets.
And yet, the player he’s replacing isn’t just a shadow looming over him. In some ways, he’s part of Savero’s preparation.
“What’s are your thoughts in replacing one of the best gold laners the Philippines ever produced?” we asked.
“I think I can because I always scrim with Kelra and I learned so many things from him. I review our scrim and I learned a lot from his playstyle,” Savero answered.
His answer reframes the narrative.
He isn’t an outsider barging into sacred territory. This is someone who has already studied the blueprint, already learned from the standard, already spent hours on the same virtual battlefield trying to understand what makes the gold lane in this region different.
Savero: ‘I don’t feel any pressure.’
Inside ONIC Philippines, though, the expectations are anything but quiet. The organization doesn’t rebuild; it reloads. Every season begins with the assumption that they will contend, and every roster move is judged by whether it keeps them at the top.
Savero keeps his response simple.
“I don’t feel any pressure. I just focus to improve and bond with the team.”
Improve. Bond. Repeat.
It sounds almost too calm for the situation, but maybe that’s the point. The only controllable thing is the work, especially in a region obsessed with results.
Still, the larger question lingers—the one Philippine MLBB always asks imports, whether directly or not:
“The Philippines has won six world championships and has proven that it doesn’t need imports. But now you’re here as an import. Do you feel like you belong here?” we asked.
Savero doesn’t overthink it.
“I guess? I just want to play against the strongest teams in the world that’s why I’m here.”
It’s not a declaration. It’s not a promise. It’s closer to a starting point.
Because belonging in the Philippine gold lane isn’t decided in press releases or roster announcements. It’s decided in the accumulation of moments: the first clutch team fight, the first game where the crowd starts shouting your name, the first time the broadcast stops introducing you as “the import” and simply calls you the gold laner.
Savero hasn’t reached that moment yet.
For now, in the eyes of many, he’s still the player who took Kelra’s seat.
In the Philippines, that alone is enough to make the whole region watch what happens next.
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