The UST Teletigers opened their UAAP Mobile Legends: Bang Bang campaign with a 1-1 draw against the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors before falling 2-0 to the National University (NU) Bulldogs on Monday, Aug. 24, at the MVP Studios in Mandaluyong.
The Teletigers now face an uphill battle for a semifinals berth, sitting at the bottom of Group A with one point after four games.
The Red Warriors dominated Game 1, building a 1,000-gold lead after taking down three Teletigers in less than a minute.
UE capitalized on its early advantage, securing two turtles and two turrets by the seven-minute mark to widen its gold lead to 4,000. The Red Warriors then claimed the first Lord and cruised to a 9-0 victory in kills.
UE continued its aggressive play in Game 2, jumping to a 2-0 lead in kills before four Red Warriors failed to execute a gank on Benjamin Lukban’s Melissa, allowing UST to take the first turtle and a 400-gold advantage.
The Teletigers could not extend their lead as UE secured the first Lord at the 10-minute mark and the second at 15 minutes, taking down six UST turrets and building a 3,000-gold cushion.
The Red Warriors captured the next two evolved Lords, but Den Mar Balingit’s Cecilion and Lukban’s Melissa kept UST in the game. At the 32-minute mark, Wayne Valentino’s Hanzo punished Jhon Calica’s Selena, paving the way for UST to claim its first Lord and complete the comeback with a 35-minute Game 2 victory.
Against NU, the Bulldogs built a 3,000-gold advantage to control Game 1 before Josh Paculan’s Marcel scored a Golden Hour that helped take down three Teletigers, allowing NU to close out the game at the 10-minute mark.
NU carried its momentum into Game 2, jumping to an early 5-0 lead capped by a double kill from Estacio’s Paquito and building a 2,000-gold advantage. The Bulldogs maintained control to finish the game, 16-2 in kills, by the 11-minute mark.
The Teletigers will next face the DLSU Green Aces on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the same venue. Jay-z V. Perez
