KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Red Giants (SRG) insist their mentality remains strong despite suffering a narrow defeat to Aurora Philippines in the upper bracket final of the M7 World Championships in Jakarta on Thursday.
Head coach Michael Angelo Bocado, better known as Arcadia, dismissed suggestions that pressure played a role after SRG fell 3-2 in the best-of-five series at the Tennis Indoor Stadium Senayan.
Aurora seized the early momentum by dominating Game 1, but SRG responded decisively in the second to level at 1-1.
SRG then took the third game, only for Aurora to force a decider after regaining control in the fourth.
Arcadia said a single lapse proved costly at a critical moment when SRG had been executing their plan effectively in the fourth game at match point.
“I don’t think that they were nervous, I think this team have a really good mental,” said Arcadia.
“We had a very good early game but one small mistake made us lose the tempo,” he said.
The series was decided in a tense fifth game, where Aurora held their nerve to clinch victory and secure the first Grand Final berth, marking a significant turnaround from their M6 campaign in 2024, where they were eliminated in the Swiss Stage.
Despite the disappointment, Arcadia stressed that SRG remain focused on the mission ahead as they dropped into the lower bracket final.
“We still have one life and as long as we are still alive in the tournament, there is always hope,” he said.
SRG will now await their opponents for the lower bracket final, where a second chance at reaching the Grand Final remains within reach.
In the lower bracket quarter-finals on Friday, Aurora Gaming Turkiye will face Team Liquid Philippines, while Alter Ego take on Team Spirit, with the winners advancing to the lower bracket semi-finals.
The winners of the semi-final will battle SRG in the lower bracket final on Saturday, with the last remaining Grand Final spot on the line.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
