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| RRQ Kaito completed what other pro teams can dream of: sweeping the entire season. Moonton (file photo) |
MANILA--The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards looked poised to get there in 2022, but a stinging defeat at home almost knocked them out of the MPBL North Division Finals before finally winning the national title.
The Pampanga Giant Lanterns tried their luck the following MPBL year, but a trip to Batangas City derailed their bid before a dominating playoff run gave them the championship.
Kaya Iloilo went unbeaten to rule this year's PFL, but One Taguig inflicted the one draw that prevented them from completing their own attempt.
All it took was one club which was way under the radar from another sport to complete the job.
RRQ Kaito, the Philippine arm of the storied RRQ MLBB group, achieved what even the MPL Philippines squads could not complete as well as PBA teams even for just a single conference: sweeping a full league season.
RRQ Kaito went 11-0 in MDL Philippines Season 3 to become the first team ever to sweep an entire season in a Games and Amusements Board-sanctioned professional league.
Never mind that RRQ Kaito only had 11 matches in MDL PH Season 3 since winning 11 straight games is already tough in itself.
RRQ Kaito's dream season began with a 9-0 match sweep of the regular season in dominating fashion with only three best-of-three ties going to a decisive Game 3.
Earning a quarterfinal bye for being the top seed, RRQ Kaito tripped Blacklist Academy in the semifinals.
However, just like the teams from the other pro sports leagues mentioned above, RRQ Kaito entered the danger zone when Echo Proud, now known as Team Liquid Philippines Academy, raced to a 2-1 lead in the finals.
"We're thinking a little bit too much in Games 2 and 3 'coz there's a lot of what they call 'lason' picks so I had to take into account those picks before coming up with a draft game by game," coach Paulo "Pauloxpert" Munsayac said regarding what led to the series deficit.
RRQ Kaito, though, never gave up on its dream season and pushed the best-of-five series to the limit, and a dominating Game 5 turned the dream into a reality.
"We have to keep humble this whole season. Bawal lumaki yung ulo ng mga players. Pag lumaki yan, doon sila nagging komportable. Napapabayaan na nila yung laro nila. I think the most important thing is just being humble and keeping them in check," Munsayac shared the secret to putting up the first ever perfect season in any GAB-sanctioned club leagues.
The most recent mainstream memory of a play-for-pay club completing a perfect season was when Team Socceroo went 16-0-0 for the full 48 points in the 2013 season of the UFL Division 2.
However, the UFL, the predecessor of the fully pro PFL, was not sanctioned by GAB and was labeled as a "semi-pro" league that allowed collegiate players to compete there without losing their amateur status.
RRQ Kaito and Socceroo drew some parallels, though, as they both had dominating runs to become the kings of the second divisions they were in.
RRQ Kaito's MDL PH Season 3 domination, though, opened doors for them.
RRQ Kaito showed that they can be at par with teams in the top tier MPL PH by winning the Sibol qualifiers and becoming the Philippine team to the IESF World Championship.
RRQ Kaito stunned erstwhile M Series world champion Falcons AP Bren in the semifinals before sweeping Smart Omega in the finals.
Although falling short against Selangor-backed Team Malaysia, a team they already beat in the preliminaries, in the finals, RRQ Kaito's second-place finish in the IESF World Championship is still something they can be proud of as 2024 comes to a close.
While Fnatic Onic Philippines' dominating MPL PH Season 14 run that planted the seeds for its demolition job in M6 overshadowed RRQ Kaito's road to perfection, we just cannot ignore the latter's historic feat.
More on Fnatic Onic PH's glorious second semester in my next esports year-ender.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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