By MARK REY MONTEJO
The Philippine men’s baseball team bucked a slow start and beat Thailand, 9-5, to secure its spot in the final round of the 14th East Asia Cup at The Villages in Clark, Pampanga Friday, Nov. 1.
The Filipino batters relied on Mark Manaig and John Vargas’ homers to overcome a four-run deficit to arrange a final showdown against Hong Kong Sunday, Nov. 3, at the same venue.
Also starring were pitchers Mar Joseph Carolino, Raymond Nerosa and JP Macasaet, who kept the Philippines afloat despite the Thais’ counter attempts.
Earlier, Hong Kong demolished Singapore in seven innings, 14-4, to clinch its finals ticket.
The Philippines and Hong Kong virtually topped the race after sweeping their rivals. The tournament will give the top two teams their slots in the championship round,
With their win, the Nationals stayed perfect after crushing Indonesia (13-1) and Singapore (15-0) before beating the Thais.
Before the much-awaited title clash, the Philippines and Hong Kong will have a final preview first as they collide final round this Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1:30 p.m.
Also set for the day is the clash between Singapore against Thailand and Malaysia versus Indonesia. Both games are set at 9 a.m.
After falling behind 4-0, the Philippines found its offensive rhythm anew with Manaig leading the way, tying the match at 4-all.
They went brilliant in the fourth inning where they took the advantage, 7-4, thanks to Vargasm who slammed his second home run this year.
And that closed the door on the Thais, who were able to create some counters in the following frames yet those were not enough.
