By MARK REY MONTEJO
The Philippine men’s baseball team remained “untouchable” in the region as it ruled the East Asia Baseball Cup for the fifth straight year on Sunday, Nov. 3, at The Villages in Clark, Pampanga.
Combining superb pitching and explosive batting, the Nationals repeated over Hong Kong, 9-2, to re-stamp their class in the week-long tournament in a win that enabled first-time PH coach Vince Sagisi to heave a huge sigh of relief.
The former Major League Baseball scout said: “Honestly, it’s a sense of relief. Anytime you play a tournament of this magnitude in your home country, there’s a lot of expectations. So the eventual winning of the championship, it’s almost a relief.”
“But I give credit to the players and the assistant coaches, they are the ones that got the job done. I know we have a good team. I knew we had a championship team,” said Sagisi.
Sagisi and his coaching staff credited pitcher Romeo Jasmin and catcher Mark Manaig for the title win.
Jasmin was ruthless on the mound, striking out four batters and overpowering HK batters with variety of pitches.
He surrendered four hits that resulted to a run in a six-inning job. He foiled what could be a disaster for PH team when they completed a double-play with bases loaded.
Manaig was also sensational offensively, coming through with a three-run homerun in the eight.
All told, the Nationals tallied five runs in that fruitful frame to reaffirm their mastery over HK side which it also beat 4-2 at the close of the super round on Saturday.
With his splendid pitching prowess, Jasmin snared the Most Valuable Player plum while also making it to the All-Star Team including Manaig (catcher), Clarence Caasalan (relief pitcher, third baseman), Lord De Vera (shortstop), and John Vargas (outfield), while Kyle Soberano also bagged the Most Stolen Bases and Most Runs Scored.
De Vera and Vargas took the Most Home Runs and Outstanding Defensive Player plums, respectively.
Meanwhile, Thailand bagged t he bronze honor after pulling off a thrilling 11-10 escape over Singapore.
