Pinoy clouters shine

The Philippines reasserted its supremacy over Southeast Asian counterparts as it swept the Selangor Int’l Invitational Baseball Championship, including all individual honors staked in the tournament.

The Filipino clouters overwhelmed the opposition by a margin of no less than 12 runs, scoring a total of 86 runs in four games.

They were at their best against the Malaysians, whom they routed, 32-1, in an abbreviated five-inning win before beating Selangor 17-1, and Thailand, 14-1, both in regulation to the elimination round. They repeated over the Thais, 13-1, to clinch the title in their winner-take-all playoff.

So imposing were the Filipinos that they romped away with all the individual awards with 20-year-old Ernesto Binarao earning the best pitcher honor.

The three Binarao brothers who made it to the team actually topped their respective categories with Joel, the eldest, bagging the slugging honors, and Manolito stashing the most runs batted in.

Andoy Velasquez, the oldest in coach Rodrifo Valencia’s line-up at 35, had the most number of stolen base.

Ernesto the pitcher, the youngest of the four Binarao brothers from Zamboanga City who migrated to Manila to play in the big leagues, emerged the winningest hurler in the series with three, yielding only seven hits and three runs in the 26 innings that he manned the mound.

Binarao, who plays for Adamson University and the Philippine Air Force, struck out 25 of the total 47 batters he faced while retiring the sides in order 11 times of the 26 frames he pitched in a devastating show of form organizers said was seen for the first time.

In claiming the best hitter award, Manolito connected eight times in 11 times at bat on a high .727 average in depriving teammates Roel Empacis (5-of-8 for .625 average) and Ramos (6-of-10 for .600 average) of the honor.