Tanauan, Palayan take Li’l League openers

MANILA, Philippines - Palayan City of Nueva Ecija and Tanauan of Batangas imposed their will early, fashioning out a pair of easy victories yesterday to open their respective bids in Big League Baseball of the Little League Philippine Series at the Sto. Nino field in Marikina yesterday.

Palayan City unleashed its superb hitting power to blast Antipolo City, 22-4, in a regulated game that lasted four and a half innings while Tanauan shut down Muntinlupa, 11-0, in a five-inning result.

Ruben Matic and Ruben Libid batted in a combined eight runs, including five in the bottom of the first inning when the Palayan batters came through wtih a whopping 11 runs that set the tone for the rout.

ILLAM, for its part, stamped its class in other fronts as it posted smashing wins over the Lipa Barakitos, 7-1, in senior softball (15 to 16 years old), Baguio, 30-0, in Junior Softball (13-14 years old) and Makati, 12-2, in Little League Baseball (11-12 years old).

More than 100 teams from all over the country are seeing action in the weeklong series staking slots to the World Series in various venues in the country’s shoe capital and some parts in Pasig City.

The baseball and softball teams, numbering 112, are vying in the national championships in Little League (11-12), Junior League (14-under), Senior League (16-U), and Big League (18-U) divisions.

Winners of the Philippine Series will represent the country in the Asia Pacific regional championships in July in Clark, which will serve as the World Series qualifier.

Little League officials expect competition to be tough in the series, being held in celebration of the 75th year of Little League worldwide.

“Last year, eight different teams from different cities fought for the championship and we expect it to be as competitive this year,” said LL Philippines district administrator Jolly Gomez, who recently received the Outstanding District Administrator for Asia-Pacific award during the Little League International Congress in Minneapolis.

“We can never really tell who has the decisive edge here considering most charters are now stepping up,” said assistant district administrator Chito Gonzales.

The tournament was officially declared open by Gomez, also a Philippine Sports commissioner, in elaborate opening rites at the Marikina Sports Complex last night graced by host city Mayor Del de Guzman.

Matic, a 17-year-old standout recruited by Adamson, had a pair of doubles in the opening frame that netted three runs while Libid, an 18-year-old hotshot from National U, had a two-run double in the same inning to lead the way for Palayan.

Matic and Libid then belted a doubles each in the third inning for three more runs, finally finishing off Antipolo, which used a total of five pitchers in a bid to slow down the power-hitting pair to no avail.

“We knew it’s going to be a slugfest but we didn’t expect to finish them off in the first inning,” said Palayan coach Alfredo Olivares, a 22-year-old former national team mainstay who is playing pro-ball in Japan, in Filipino.

“And we have to give credit to Matic and Libid for their energy,” he added.