Series 8 games reset

Baseball Philippines officials postponed yesterday’s Series 8 games at the Clark Field Parade Grounds in Pampanga due to inclement weather.

Heavy rains brought about by tropical storm “Falcon” forced the league to postpone yesterday’s scheduled games of Manila-Alabang and Cebu-Dumaguete in the league organized by Community Sports Inc. and sponsored by Gatorade and Rawlings.

The games were actually supposed to be played today but field conditions remained unfit for play.

Manila is currently in first place with an 8-1 record but not far behind is Cebu, which sports a 7-2 win-loss card as they play in the sixth out-of-town game day of the league made possible by Victory Liner, Clark Development Corporation, SM City Clark and San Miguel Corporation.

Cebu needs to win against Dumaguete in order to stay alive in the hunt for the top-seed in the semifinals with Manila. But both Manila and Cebu have already clinched the twice-to-beat edge in the semifinals.

The league is also backed by Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park, Emperador Distillers, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Philippine Umpires Association and DZSR Sports Radio 918. For details, log on to www.baseballphilippines.com. PR

Sharks seek top seeding vs Tigers

Standings                W            L
x-Manila                              8              1
x-Cebu                                 7              2
x-Batangas                          5              5
Taguig                                                4              5
Alabang                             2              7
Dumaguete                        1              7

x-clinched semifinal berth

Games today
(Clark Field, Pampanga)
9 a.m. - Manila vs. Alabang (resumption of postponed game)
1 p.m. - Cebu vs. Dumaguete

Manila tries to finish off Alabang at resumption of their match that was rained out last May 8 as the Sharks try to formalize their hold of the top seeding in the semifinal round of Baseball Philippines Series 8 at Clark Field Parade Grounds in Pampanga today (Saturday, June 25).
The Sharks lord it over the field with an 8-1 slate, one game ahead of the Cebu Dolphins (7-2), and would want to firm up their hold of the lead with another victory in their 10 a.m. encounter with the also-ran Tigers (2-7).
Manila built an 8-4 lead in the fifth inning when play was halted due to rain.
If they keep the No. 1 spot, the Sharks will have a twice-to-beat advantage against the No. 4 team in the semis of the league organized by Community Sports Inc. and sponsored by Gatorade and Rawlings.
Cebu, meanwhile, battles Dumaguete in a crucial match at 1 p.m. in the second game of the sixth out-of-town offering of the league backed by Victory Liner, Clark Development Corporation, SM City Clark and San Miguel Corp.
Cebu remains in the hunt of the top spot since a victory by the Dolphins coupled by a loss by the Sharks would give Cebu the No. 1 seeding by virtue of a superior batting average.
The league is also backed by Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park, Emperador Distillers, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Philippine Umpires Association and DZSR Sports Radio 918.
For details, log on to www.baseballphilippines.com. PR

Bulls down Uni-bikers, gain semis

Standings                W            L
x-Manila                              8              1
x-Cebu                                 7              2
x-Batangas                          5              5
*Taguig                                                3              5
*Alabang                             2              6
Dumaguete                        1              7

x-clinched semifinal berth
*-playing at presstime

Games Saturday
(Parade Grounds, Clark Field)
9 a.m. – Manila vs. Alabang (resumption of postponed game)
1 p.m. – Cebu vs. Dumaguete

Batangas used a three-run binge in the sixth inning to regain control then leaned on Romeo Jasmin’s solid relief job to pound out a 7-4 victory over Dumaguete, and clinch the third semifinal berth in Baseball Philippines Series 8 at the Parade Grounds in Clark Field, Pampanga, Sunday.

Justin Zialcita notched the go-ahead run in the sixth while Jasmin preserved Batangas’ lead in a relief appearance as the Bulls rolled to their fifth win in 10 outings to advance in the league organized by Community Sports Inc. and sponsored by Gatorade and Rawlings.

Alex Ching tripled to spark Batangas’ fightback in the bottom of the sixth and scored on a Carlo Banzon single to tie the game at four before Zialcita made it a two-run game with a long drive to right field to send Banzon and Randy De Leon home for a 6-4 Bulls lead.

Jojo Apura scored on a catching error in the outfield to add another run in the seventh inning of the match which served as the fifth out-of-town game of the league backed by Clark Development Corp., Victory Liner, SM City Clark and San Miguel Corp.

Jasmin took over in the seventh and never allowed a run, giving up only a hit while striking out two batters to send the Bulls to the next round while booting out the Uni-bikers, who took their seventh loss against a lone victory.

Batangas assistant coach Emerson Barandoc said that the players were tired after defeating the Uni-bikers, 11-0, last Saturday.

“It’s a good thing we recovered in the sixth, then Romeo held on. He really is our closer,” said Barandoc, who took over Randy Dizer, who handles the national softball team competing in the Aspac regional championship in Bacolod City.

The league is backed by Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park, Emperador Distillers, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Philippine Umpires Association and DZSR Sports Radio 918. For details, log on to www.baseballphilippines.com.

The Uni-bikers looked poised for an upset win after taking a 4-3 lead in the fifth as Lloyd Arago crushed a double to deep left field to score Pelos Remollo before advancing to home on a ground-rule double by Andy Tan.

Batangas held a 2-0 lead after a two-run single by Apura in the first inning but the Uni-bikers tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Justin Mathay and an RBI single by Arago in the second and third inning respectively.(pr)


Linescores:
Dumaguete        011 020 000 4 8 6
Batangas              200 103 10x 7 9 2

Team Standings    W    L

X-Manila        8    1

X-Cebu        7    2

Batangas        4    5

Taguig            3    5

Alabang        2    6

Dumaguete        1    6

X-clinched semifinals berth

Games on Sunday

(Parade Grounds, Clark Field)

9 a.m. Dumaguete vs Batangas

1 p.m. Taguig vs Alabang

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga—Batangas stepped closer to a semifinal berth after blanking Dumaguete, 11-0, Saturday to win its second consecutive game in the Baseball Philippines Series 8 at the Parade Grounds here.

Vladymir Eguia pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out nine batters as the Bulls scattered 19 hits to improve to a 4-5 win-loss card for their first back-to-back game after losing four straight games.

The Bulls can clinch a semifinal berth today against the Uni-bikers in the first game at 9 a.m. in Clark.

“We are now a complete team. For now, our goal is just make it to the semifinals,” said Batangas coach Randy Dizer.

In the first game, Taguig prevented several comeback bids by Alabang to hack out an 11-8 victory in Baseball Philippines Series 8 at the Parade Grounds here.

The Patriots led 9-4 after five innings then shook off flashes of rallies by the Tigers in the final four innings to gain a one-game lead in the race for the fourth-and-last spot in the semifinals

With the victory, Taguig improved to 3-5 in this league organized by Community Sports Inc. and sponsored by Gatorade, Rawlings, Philippine Transmarine Corporation, The Heritage Park, Emperador Brandy, Victory Liner, Harbour Centre, Clark Development Corporation and Philippine Sports Commission.

The loss sent the Tigers down to 2-6 for fifth place.

Jeff Hardillo had three RBIs while Ka Sulhay Argel scattered three hits in four at-bats as the Patriots won their second game in three outings.

Argel tripled with two outs in the fifth scoring Christian Paul de Leon, who earlier reached first base on an error, for a 9-4 lead.

The Tigers answered with three runs in the eighth as Marco Martinez drilled a one-out RBI single, scoring Julius Visayas then later touched home on a passed ball before Adrian Bernardo drove home older brother Bocboc to cut the deficit to 9-7.

However, Andro Cuyugan hit a groundout with runners in the corners to end Alabang's side. In the bottom half of the same inning, Justin Payongayong drilled a two-run double to left center to put the lead back to four runs, 11-7.

Alabang threatened anew in the ninth when Cuyugan scored from third on a Martinez single with two outs to pull within three runs. The hit also advanced pinch runner Leslie Suntay from first to third.

On the next at-bat, Taguig pitcher Irvin Tuazon made a fielding error that enabled Arcel Aligno to reach base safely, loading the bases for Bocboc Bernardo.

Bernardo, though, swung on the first pitch thrown by Tuazon that resulted in an easy game-ending flyout to right fielder Wilfredo Hidalgo.

The league is also backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Philippine Umpires Association and DZSR Sports Radio 918. For details, log on to www.baseballphilippines.com. (PR)

Sharks rip Uni-bikers, reach semis

Standings                W            L
x-Manila              7              1
*Cebu                  6              1
Batangas              2              4
*Taguig                   1              3
Alabang                1              4
Dumaguete        0              4

x-clinched semifinal berth
*-playing at presstime

Games Saturday
(Lipa City)
9 a.m. – Alabang vs Dumaguete
1 p.m. – Taguig vs Batangas

Two-time defending champion Manila kept its fine form and trounced Dumaguete, 11-0, in eight innings, Saturday to secure a berth in the semifinal round in Baseball Philippines Series 8 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
Marvin Malig turned the game into a rout with a two-run home run in the seventh inning as the Harbour Centre-backed Sharks posted their seventh win in eight games in the league organized by Community Sports Inc. and sponsored by Rawlings and Gatorade.
Christian Galedo hit a single and Jon Jon Robles scored on a double on the top of the seventh before Malig ripped the 2-1 pitch of Dumaguete reliever Amber Plaza into right field to complete the abbreviated game at 8-0.
Warren Vispo, Charlie Labrador and Robles hurled scoreless innings while combining for seven hits to shut down Dumaguete, which remained winless in four outings.
For details, log on to www.baseballphilippines.com.
“Our game is really turning around after we struggled in our first few games with our pitching and hitting,” said Manila coach Jhoel Palanog.
Nino Tator and Robles came through with RBI singles to fuel the Sharks’ charge in the first inning with Rommel Roja adding another run on a run-scoring single in the second. Ferdinand Badrina doubled in the third frame to score Robles before advancing home on a single by Allen Dizon.
The league is backed by Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park, Emperador Distillers, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Philippine Umpires Association and DZSR Sports Radio 918. PR

Linescore:
Manila 212 000 33x 11 14 1
Dumaguete 000 000 00x 0 7 3

Dolphins, Sharks seek to firm up lead

                               W            L
Manila                  5              1
Cebu                     5              1
Batangas              2              4
Taguig                   1              2
Alabang                1              4
Dumaguete        0              2

Games today
(Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium)
9 a.m. – Taguig vs. Cebu
1 p.m. – Dumaguete vs. Manila

Cebu and Manila shoot for their sixth win in seven games against struggling
rivals today (Saturday) as action in Baseball Philippines Series 8 resumes after
a three-week break at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

The Dolphins face the Taguig Patriots (1-2) in the 9 a.m. opener while the
three-peat seeking Sharks are heavily favored against the winlessDumaguete
Uni-bikers in their 1 p.m. encounter in the league organized by Community Sports
Inc. and sponsored by Gatorade and Rawlings.

Cebu and Manila are pacing Series 8 so far with a 5-1 win-loss card, three games
ahead of third-placer Batangas Bulls.

The Patriots, however, are coming off a big 12-3 rout of the Uni-bikers in an
out-of-town game in Barangay Banlic in Cabuyao, Laguna recently.

The Sharks, meanwhile, will taking on a Dumaguete side hardpressed to break into
the scoring column after dropping their first two matches.
Cebu held off Alabang, 13-9, last May 15 while Manila nipped Batangas, 7-6,
after 10 innings last May 16 after a game-winning RBI by Jon Jon Robles before
the league took a long break.

The league is backed by Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park, Philippine
Transmarine Carriers, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports
Commission, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Philippine Umpires
Association and DZSR Sports Radio 918.PR