KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s bronze medal achievement in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) event at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games underlines the depth of talents within the Mobile Legends Professional League Malaysia (MPL MY) ecosystem.
National head coach Poon Kok Sing or better known as OzoraVeki, said MPL MY continues to produce promising players capable of competing at a higher level, provided they are given the right guidance and environment to unlock their full potential.
"I think MPL MY still has a lot of talent, that's for sure because I think that especially when Sizkaa (Muhammad Razif Sazali) and Cikugais (Muhammad Danial Mohamad Fuad) joined the team, like during the four days of scrims, they have improved so much.
“I see that they can play so much better than before they joined the team. So I think that it's all about like under the correct guidance and under the correct situation where the players can play through and unleash their potential,” he said to Bernama when met recently
OzoraVeki believes there is still plenty more to come from the Malaysian MLBB scene, especially with the increasingly intense competition in MPL MY.
“So, there's just so much more coming on, and then I'm excited to see whatever future that MPL MY holds because in this season especially, the competition has truly been intense,” he said.
In the meantime, OzoraVeki admitted his experience with Selangor Red Giants (SRG) in MPL MY, particularly working under Arcadia, played an important role in preparing him to take on the responsibility of leading the national team at the Asian Games.
He said the experience taught him that coaching goes beyond developing in-game strategies, with man-management, motivating players and planning training routines equally important when leading a team.
“Actually, there's a lot of things that I learn, especially how to handle a team as a head coach. A lot of things about coaching goes further than just the strategy for the gameplay.
“It's all a lot about man-management, how do you cheer your team up, how do you strategize, like how do you set your training routine. I think there are a lot of things that people don't realize about what being a head coach is, and then I learned so much from Arcadia about it,” he said.
OzoraVeki, who is set to return to his tactical coaching role with SRG, believes his experience of taking charge of the national team and leading the drafting process will further strengthen his contribution to the club.
“And I think going forward is that later on I will go back to SRG, so I will become a tactical coach again and it's like, it's like what I'm specialized on, ah.
“But with this experience of being the first man drafting, I think this can really help us also on whatever international tournaments or like MPL that's going to, MPL matches that are coming. So, I believe from then on we will become stronger,” he said.
Malaysia secured the bronze medal in the MLBB event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after going down 0-2 to Myanmar in the semi-finals.
The national squad comprised Haqqullah Ahmad Shahrul Zaman (Sekyss), Hazziq Danish Rizwan (Stormie), CikuGais, Sizkaa, Qayyum Ariffin Suhairi (YumS) and Muhammad Danish Fitri Razman (Unii).
-- BERNAMA