Nexplay Evos head coach John Michael “Zico” Dizon never doubted the ability of Renejay “RENEJAY” Barcase to play the tank role as he sees his former EXP laner a good fit for the position especially with his leadership and in-game shot calls.
That belief paid dividends on Friday as Renejay on the roaming role keyed the squad’s 2-1 victory over Blacklist International.
Renejay put up a solid performance in his S9 debut and first professional game on the new role highlighted by a couple of crucial pick offs on Blacklist’s key players using the Iron Hooks of his Franco picks.
Renejay had a 2-2-10 line in NXPE’s 14-8 Game 1 while finishing with a 2-0-8 KDA on the Edith pick in the series clinching 11-1 win in Game 3. He also had a crucial three-man knock up using the Edith in the final clash to cement the series win for NXPE.
“I just decided to put Rennejay on tank role since we have subs on each role, sa tank lang wala,” shared Zico. “Naisip ko goods sya as tank dahil sa mga shot call nya the past seasons, and naging effective naman,” he added.
Zico, however, admitted that they struggled to make the transition smooth for Renejay who has played as a sideliner in his entire career, both in the EXP and Gold Lane.
Good thing, Renejay has developed a chemistry with rookie midlaner Emanuel “Elpizo” Candelaria which helped him to fast track his adjustment to the role.
“Nag struggle talaga kami at first, kaya di ko muna sya pinalaro nung Week 1 dahil medyo nangangapa pa sya but as time goes, nag-iimprove and gumaganda chemistry nya kay Elpizo dahil magkasundo sa shot call kaya silang dalawa pinagpartner ko,” shared Zico.
Known as one of the best Chou players in the league, Zico anticipated that Blacklist would also deny Renejay his Tank Chou hence the Franco pick in the first two games.
“Chou is only our option actually and alam ko expected nila na mag Chou lang si Renejay since kakatransition nya lang to tank. Kinailangan namin magdagdag ng isang hero na dapat respetuhin sa kanya,” he explained