Kelra and E2MAX take questions at a press conference after Onic Philippines snagged their fifth straight win over ECHO. Courtesy: MPL Philippines.

MANILA -- Since stepping into MPL Philippines under the Execration banner, both Kelra and E2MAX had to grind their way through needles in haystacks just to enter the playoffs. 

Now, under a new team, both of them -- and their coach Tony "Ynot" Senedrin -- can heave a sigh of relief after securing the top seed in the tournament so far, with a playoff campaign seemingly imminent for Onic Philippines. 

MLBB: Kelra signs with Onic Philippines; E2MAX joins as coach

In a post-match interview, and now as one of the team's coaches, E2MAX said he felt like he was dreaming. For him, their current accomplisments were a fruition of the fresh start they were given. 

"Hindi kami sanay na nasa winning team ngayon sobrang nakakaproud na napunta kami dito and masaya ako sa bagong team namin, sa bagong kasama sa management, sa boss, sobrang solid ng mga makatrabaho namin," E2MAX shared. 

(We're not used to being in a winning team. And we're proud and happy to be here. We have a solid management and boss on our side.) 

Kelra, E2MAX, and Ynot all came from Smart Omega and Execration, which for the last six seasons combined had to fight their way into a playoffs spot in the last minute. 

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E2MAX also shared that they cancelled breaks and worked non-stop to get to the team's current outcome.

"May mga araw na hindi talagqa kami nagooff... Ginawa yung team hindi para sa season 14 and season 15 gusto namin makuha ang season na to," he said.

(At times we would cancel breaks. We created this team not just to build it up to season 14 and season 15. We really want to win this season.)

Now with a new team, Onic Philippines find themselves at a comfortable spot, sitting number 1 in the standings and downing formidable foes such as ECHO and reigning world champions AP Bren. 

"Medyo magaan ang paghinga kasi before sa mga naging team namin sobrang hirap talaga eh. Parang umaasa kami sa miracle dati, Ngayon kasi ano eh ang goal na namin top 1. Ngayon sobrang tuwang tawa ako and ngayon worth it ang pagod namin.," Kelra shared.

(We can now breathe a sigh of relief because before we found it difficult to even crack into the playoff picture. We used to rely on miracles to get by. Now our actual goal is to become the top team. Now I'm very happy, knowing that our efforts are paying off.) 

MPL Philippines Season 13 will return for its second half on April 19.