Pro volleyball athlete Aby Maraño takes time to watch MPL Philippines Season 14 playoffs on Saturday at Green Sun Hotel in Makati. Screengrab from MPL Philippines/YouTubeMANILA, Philippines – In a surprise crossover, Chery Tiggo captain Aby Maraño watched playoff action in the MPL Philippines Season 14 on Saturday at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati.

In an interview, Maraño, a professional volleyball player who has been a fan of the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) for five years, talked about breaking the stereotypes surrounding esports.

She said that the public should "not look down" on esports players, highlighting the prevalence of the gaming title in the country.

"Different stereotype nung mga tao is 'pag sports, dapat it has to do with physical games. But this one is really different. Kasi I got to play this sport (MLBB)—hindi siya madali. Ang hirap talaga to strategize mentally, ang dami mong sakripisyo," Maraño expressed.

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"Given that fact na itong mga atleta na 'to, hindi basta-basta 'yung binibigay nila, they put into work for playing the sport—dapat hindi natin sila i-look down or hindi iangat, lalo na sa Pilipinas na kilala na 'yung sport na Mobile Legends," she added.

Maraño also talked about her experience watching live MPL action, which she said it has been a longtime dream of hers.

"It feels surreal for me kasi ang tagal ko na pong dream na makanood ng MPL," she said. "Super tagal na, pero I was given a chance to finally be here... My heart is really happy to be here right now."

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By the looks of it, the Crossover is a mid-laner as she shared her "best" heroes: Lunox and Pharsa.

Maraño also revealed that the highest rank she achieved in-game was Mythical Glory. She was also there to support her friend, Renejay Barcarse of Aurora.

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