EXCLUSIVE: ONIC Indonesia Almost Got Kelra and Coach Ynot
There is no surprise when ONIC Philippines announced it was fielding the same roster for MPL Philippines Season 15, with the slight change of Jaylord “Hate” Gonzales replacing Brian Miles “Spider Milez” Santos as the team’s sixth man.
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But when ALL-STAR asked ONIC Philippines country manager Rafael Sanchez whether ONIC Indonesia came recruiting one of the boys, his initial reaction was, “Shit. That almost happened!”
“Is there a possibility that they would also keep our boys from Season 14, or is there a possibility of them getting Kelra or Coach Tony like they did Kairi and Coach Yeb?” we asked.
“Um… shit. This almost happened! Even before the season started. And that’s why I was even more eager to win that season,” Sanchez told ALL-STAR.
He knew there was something very special about the team even before Season 14 began.
“When I was picking out this roster and management, I had the exact same feeling that I had in M3,” said Sanchez. He was referring to the 2022 ONIC Philippines roster composed of Kairi, Baloyskie, Dlar, Hate, and Markyy.
“My intuition was so strong, especially after speaking with the players. We knew we were strong but we never expected to be MPL champions, let alone world champions.”
We reached out to ONIC Philippines head coach Tony Senedrin, aka Coach Ynot for a reaction on how Indonesia nearly picked up him and Kelra.
“Nakakatuwa pero, alam naman nila na madami pa kami gusto gawin ni Duane dito kasama buong team,” Senedrin told ALL-STAR.
