Marking a successful return after their 2022 triumph and their failure to advance to last year’s finals, the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers secured a 3-0 victory over the Accountancy (ACC) Griffins in the grand finals of the Palarong Atenista 2024 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) series.

The core of the SEA Tigers’ victory included Johndell Mina, Jitter Gromia, JL Cañal, Rex Escaño, Paolo Prado, Jam Lopez, and Earl Maniquez.

In the first match, the ACC Griffins secured first blood and maintained a slight gold advantage, but just 10 seconds later, SEA Tigers’ Prado stole the turtle, increasing their gold lead by 1k.

Nine minutes in, the SEA Tigers displayed their prowess by executing a team wipe, ultimately taking the first match with a nearly 5k gold gap, 2-1 in lords slain, and 8-3 in turrets destroyed.

During the second match, the SEA Tigers took first blood again, but ACC’s Ling managed to steal the turtle, leading to a tense 15-minute standoff.

Despite defenses from the ACC Griffins with Pugoy’s Moskov landing a double kill that stalled SEA’s advance, Escander’s Ling failed Lord steal led to his demise at the hands of Prado’s Roger.

Ultimately, the SEA Tigers dominated the second game, ending with a 6k gold gap, 1-8 in turrets destroyed, and 0-4 in lords slain.

In the final match, the SEA Tigers maintained a consistent gold advantage with a composition featuring exp lane Edith, jungler Julian, roamer Chou, mid lane Faramis, and gold lane Karrie against the Griffins’ lineup of mid lane Zhuxin, jungler Roger, gold lane Moskov, exp lane Yu Zhong, and roamer Akai.

At the 8-minute mark, SEA executed a blue buff steal, showcasing Escaño’s Julian, who wiped out the entire opposing team with a savage and secured the turtle, creating a 3k gold lead.

Despite the Griffins’ strong defense, SEA’s Julian continued to assert dominance by pushing through the middle lane and achieving a killing spree in the final teamfight, concluding the match with 2-0 in lords slain and 8-2 in turrets destroyed.

In an interview with Atenews, SEA Tigers’ Team Captain Johndell Mina discussed their preparation for the tournament, noting that they had to prioritize academics before arriving in the tournament. 

“Last week lang kami nag serious training, making scrimmages with other schools nationally para maka prepare kami and also scrimmages in other clusters,” Mina said.

When asked about his strategy for sustaining their success in future competitions, Mina, who is a senior compared to his peers, highlighted his commitment to developing the skills of his teammates in preparation for the upcoming tournaments to ensure continued victory.

“I believe na since senior naman din ako, I will just train future players namin to sustain our championship throughout the years,” the Team Captain shared.

The MLBB grand finals were live-streamed via the Palarong Atenista page on Facebook and was held at Arrupe Hall on September 22.