Manila Spirits 2018 A Complete season for the orange men and women of SP
Sunken Pleasure is having a tremendous year this 2018. With both single gender and mixed National titles on their belts, the orange men and women of SP finally bagged their first ever Manila Spirits Championship trophy last November 18, in Alabang Country Club, Manila.
With 31 teams participating, representing countries from all around the world, this year’s Spirits is one of the most exciting Manila Spirits I've ever covered in 5 years. The Saturday night party was off the hook. Tons of drama and lots of exciting battles on the playing fields. It's Manila Spirits. You gotta have the best experience in both sides of the spectrum.
It was Day 2 that most of the teams switched gears from "let's have fun" to "let's score some wins! (And Have FUN!)" as games were a little more intense than the ones that we have seen on Day 1. International teams like Mixed Nuts, Ninja Cowboy Bear and Shookt to name a few made their presence known all throughout the weekend but the top Pinoy teams were ready to take them on this time around.
While Sunken Pleasure, Vicious Mob and defending champions Boracay Bandits are on a stroll during their quarterfinal matchups, one of the Filipino teams that showed up with a lot of fire in this tournament were first timers, Fasa Fuego of Cebu City who fought hard against a strong team in Ninja Cowboy Bear during their Pool A Quarters. Fasa Fuego scored a come from behind upset win against a regular, seasoned Manila Spirits team and gave themselves a chance to play with the big boys (and girls) on the third and final day of the tournament.
After a very blurry night at the party with tunes from Coffeebreak Island, the legendary DJ Kimosave and a crazy amount of The Bar Gin turned some folks into untamed beasts, teams were back on the field for the final day. Lower pool teams Love Parade, Blacklist, FOTS, Vicious Crew and Pancake X & Y's graced the playing fields with such energy as if nothing happened the night before (Manila Spirits organizers did an excellent job on moving the games to a later time). But the story of Day 3 was the pool A final four matches. The semifinal games were so wild that it gave me a headache after both games were finished. The SP versus Fasa Fuego game was a nail-biter up to the end. The Vicious Mob - Bandits game, on the other hand, was definitely the longest, stressful, intense and draining semifinal game I have ever witnessed. You already know what happened. So, I really don't need to talk about it anymore. It’s still giving me a headache thinking about it.
A quick Spirit Huddle just before the Championship game began, Sunken Pleasure and the defending champs the Bandits, are all set for the first pull of the finals. You can immediately see who were hungrier to bring the trophy home. SP managed to score a very comfortable lead in the early part of the game. After an impressive hand block by Mikko Gonzales, Sunken Pleasure became hungrier even more. But the Bandits never backed down. With Bolantoy and Botchok leading the rally, The bandits managed to trim down the Sunken Pleasure lead and giving everyone hope to witness a universal finish. But if you have a young core that worked together like a well-oiled machine, playing together not only with brute force, but with teamwork and high IQ all throughout the game, that high wall is just way too hard to climb. It seems so easy for the young players of SP like team captain Pao Peralta, Gabbey Rodil, Jam Macaraeg, Wencie Guevarra, Marv Debouzet, Migol Ramos to control the game with the guidance of their vets Mikko, Bullet, Cherry, Roy, and Popoy.
SP wins this time. Making it as one of the most complete seasons for the team.
It was another impressive Manila Spirits, organized by the newly elected PFDA Board Members Karen, Anjo, Dada, Rhodnie and Jessica with the help of Tournament Director, Jude Lee and the hard-working bunch of Marshals. Manila Spirits will always be the biggest grass tournament in Southeast Asia. Kudos to the new board for keeping it that way.
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