MANILA - Clad in a blue jersey and luxury shoes that you wouldn’t really want to step on, John Paul “H2wo” Salonga entered the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League media day venue with a smile on his face.

It was days shy of his announcement as RSG Slate Philippines’ new jungler, as Jhonard “Demonkite” Caranto sat out the MPL Season. Beyond that, the transfer was a fresh start for the ex-Nexplay star, who was the last to splinter from the big three he and Renejay “Renejay” Bacarse and Tristan “Yawi” Cabrera formed while in Nexplay EVOS.

H2wo seemed to have blended in with his current team, doing Tiktoks, and putting his arms around teammates’ shoulders - one of the hook, line, and sinkers to him getting recruited, head coach Brian “Panda” Lim told reporters.

“Even though he was given two days of tryouts, he was able to quickly adjust to the team, especially with communication,” Panda said.

“Still lots to work on compared to the players I worked on for a long time, but still, his overall ability to have chemistry and bond from synchronization is quite, well.”

Despite blending well with his teammates, H2wo maintained contact with Yawi and Renejay, even sharing that, at some point they wanted to buy a condo which will serve as their respite when things get rough, and he wants to face the two most powerful teams, and for a reason.

“Blacklist at Echo. Kasi makakatapat ko sina Renejay at Yawi,” he said, much to the cheers of the people in the room.

With these shoes to fill, H2wo said he feels confident about carrying the team to success, with the qualification for the ML:BB Southeast Asia Cup on the line.

“Alam ko naman sa sarili ko na kaya kong makipagsabayan. Kaya ko maging masipag na player,” he said.

H2wo and the rest of RSG Philippines will face Onic Philippines in their MPL Season 11 opener on Sunday, at the Shooting Gallery in Makati.