Manila rips Nueva Ecija, also files protest

CABANATUAN CITY — Unfazed by a protest filed on the eligibility of at least two of its players, Team Manila overpowered host Nueva Ecija, 15-1, yesterday and kept its hopes of retaining its Big League softball crown yesterday in the Little League Philippine Series 2002 at the Palayan High School ballpark north of this city.

With 17-year-old Patricia Dimal fanning a three-hitter and her teammates finally waking up on the offensive side, the Maynila Golden Girls disarmed the Novo Ecijanas right at the top of the opening frame by scoring five runs, four of them on consecutive round-tripper.

Even before that Monday setto, Bulacan coach Ulysses Mejia had put the game under protest questioning the residence eligibility of Loverly Parohinog, a former mainstay of Bacolod City while still in the Senior League (14-16) division, and Lyn Banteling, an ex-Bulacan stalwart.

A counter-protest filed by Manila team manager Filomeno "Boy" Codinera might yet rock the three-day old series, which ironically has peace and unity as its theme.

Codinera, in turn, questioned the residence eligibility of Bulacan’s Erlinda Pascual and Angelyn Mendoza, who both played for Manila in last year’s Series in Malolos.

This development almost overshadowed ILLAM’s (International Little League Association of Manila),advancing into the semifinal of the senior League (14-16) boys’ baseball following its 12-2 rout of Cagayan Valley and a walkover victory over Navotas.