The DLSU Green Aces saw their back-to-back title run spoiled in the UAAP Season 88 Valorant Esports Tournament after three straight stalemates cost them the points needed to make the cut into the Final Four.
Step by step
Heading into Lotus against NU, the Green Aces were locked in a constant battle, shifting to an early economic disadvantage after falling, 2-0. They continued their head-to-head aggression despite weaker firepower, forcing a Bulldog eco round after Lance Novilla’s Fade evened the score at 2-2. The back-and-forth battle ensued despite the growing Lasallian aggression kickstarted by John Liporada’s 4K for NU, followed by a thrifty round for DLSU at 4-4. NU adjusted through strict positioning to await their attackers, maintaining the equilibrium on the scoreboard till the switch at 6-6. La Salle, now on defense, showcased a costly and fragile utility stack easily breached by the Bulldogs, gaining a 4K, followed by an ace in the next round. Repeated blue-and-gold dominance achieved a three-point deficit led by Ashton Huyong’s surgical precision on Chamber’s utilities. The Aces adjusted their patience and positioning against the sniper’s precision and closed the deficit to 11-10. With match point nearing and agents charged, ults flew left and right even to check corners. Returning to a clinch at 13-13, Novilla regained the lead after swinging for a 4K to precede their final round. The tension called for the Green Aces to play safe; the teams traded at C site, ending with Lucas Gruenberg’s Neon shutting Huyong down for a 15-14 overtime victory.
Going into Split, Aaron Sablay’s Viper kicked off the match with a 4K to take the pistol round. Clean site takes, along with Novilla’s Sky flashes and crucial trades, gave La Salle a 3-1 advantage. NU eventually adjusted despite their low buys to take back the lead at 4-3 with strategic positioning, eventually inflating the lead further to 7-4. Thomas Lazatin’s Jett would come up big with frags after switching sides to tie the game at 7-all. The game went back-and-forth yet again, with NU nabbing three straight wins, followed by DLSU tying it at 10-all. Momentum hit the middle ground as both teams could only trade win after win as the rounds passed until overtime hit. NU broke through with a 3K from Clark Dalit’s Neon. A flank and swing from NU through Nomer Cruz’s Omen and Liporada’s Fade was all it took to defeat the Green Aces in overtime, 14-12.
Tug of war
Following their stalemate with NU, the Green-and-White were hungry for a victory in their last two matches against UP and FEU to strengthen their bid for the Final Four.
DLSU headed into Sunset against the Fighting Maroons on August 31, losing the early tug of war 3-1 as pivotal picks and frags locked down the site. The next round would see Lazatin’s Neon finding two early kills to take control of the site and deny area control, allowing the Green Aces to take a 5-4 lead in the succeeding rounds through Sablay’s Sova supporting Lazatin’s push with Neon, while Luis Corpus’ Omen provided much-needed smokes to anchor site control. After an in-game timeout, the Diliman-based squad rebounded, taking five straight wins to inflate their advantage to 9-5, as UP’s Trey San Gabriel did the heavy lifting with crucial kills, putting him at top frag. With their backs against the wall, the green shirts turned to Lazatin, as his Neon bagged a dominant ace to keep the match alive at 12-10. However, a failed site retake in the next round led to UP capturing the first game, 13-10.
The Green Aces entered Lotus eager to even the odds. Despite winning the pistol round, they went down 3-1 yet again as UP’s exceptional site pushes with Aris Geronimo’s Fade and Julian Uson’s Omen were too much for La Salle to handle. DLSU saw daylight, with Gruenberg taking over with the picks, and Lazatin complementing with crucial frags. Area denial from Novilla’s Viper allowed Gruenberg to pick off the Fighting Maroons, leading the Green Aces to back-to-back flawless rounds at 8-4 before switching sides. UP would adjust on the defender’s side to inch their way back, 11-9, but a crucial double frag by Novilla while holding down the spike led to match point, 12-9, paving the way for Lazatin’s Neon to end the second match through a sweet 4K, 13-10, knotting the best of two at 1-all.
Push and pull
Compared to previous matches, the Green Aces could only bet on outracing the FEU Tamaraws in their last elimination game. Going into Sunset, FEU’s Andro Lapinid falling first allowed the Aces to gain an early eco advantage with a two-pronged offense on the flank and B main. La Salle’s early funds were crushed, however, after nearly being wiped out and rebuying utilities at 2-0, facing FEU now eye-to-eye. However, the Tamaraws displayed a surgical-level utility stacking against the aggressive entrances of the Aces. With little info, their crosshair placement was left guessing between dual angles; yet they maintained the lead on account of their forward playstyle, aided by a teammate trailing for back-up. DLSU grew predictable, forgetting to check their corners while the Tamaraws disciplined themselves to not swing and await the Aces to emerge from their utility stack. The Lasallians had faltered in their final round on offense and opened the defense in similar aggression after the switch, 7-7. Down on their economy, the Aces shifted to a reserved playstyle. Swinging only after the attackers had exhausted their utilities, Gruenberg and Sablay denied the Tamaraws another point,13-7, and emerged as the match’s top fraggers, with the former hailed as the MVP, 20/16/5.
On the map switch, the Green Aces succumbed to the Tamaraws’ utility-based stratagem on Ascent. A deadly defense opened the second match, showcasing a forward defense with greater utility use that led the match to 3-0 and forced FEU to rotate rather than face the aggression. Gruenberg continued his lead, now as Phoenix, as DLSU’s top frag and aiding for a flawless point by the second round. Reading DLSU’s tactics, the Tamaraws smoothed out their deficit, 3-3, by employing their own reserved gameplay, awaiting the opposing utility dump before engaging. The delayed offense led to the Aces being unsure of their positioning, at times rotating away from an oncoming assault. Eventually, the Tamaraws broke through the clinch in the final round before the switch at 6-5. Tides turned as FEU scored their own flawless at their second round of defense with an early eco-advantage enabling an oppressive utility stack. The strategies reversed, with DLSU maintaining a conservative offense against a charging defense but cannot breach FEU’s suppression. The Tamaraws grew certain of their victory upon hunting down remaining Aces with knives out. Dominated through precise utilities, DLSU’s Green Aces had the tables turned on them, 12-8.
Enduring clinch after clinch at each match, the Green Aces produced three straight 1-all ties, falling short on points and, ultimately, their bid at the Final Four. At the awarding ceremony in MVP Studios, the NU Bulldogs stood at the podium position with AdU’s Soaring Falcons as first runner-up, followed by the UE Red Warriors and the UP Fighting Maroons at the second runner-up position.
