Baseball, ground golf cap RP-Japan meet

The Philippines-Japan 50th Anniversary Celebration Sports Festival closes with a pair of tournaments — baseball and ground golf — starting today at the scenic Marikina River Park.

The Pacific Ocean Youth Baseball Cup unfolds at 10 a.m. today with two teams from Yachimata, Japan taking on four squads from the host country at the Sto. Niño grounds.

Quezon City, Antipolo, Marikina City and a team from Marist School will represent RP in this annual event for 11-12 year old batters.

Ground golf, a brand-new sport for the elderly, will also come off the wraps today at the nearby River Park course participated in by teams from both Japan and RP.

"We’ve been supporting youth baseball all our lives, this time we’ll support a sport that would give the elderly community the same positive impact sports provide for children," said Philippine Tot Baseball Foundation head Rodolfo "Boy" Tingzon Jr.

"This sport is so easy to learn with minimum costs to play, anybody regardless of their economic stature and even those in wheelchair can play this game," he added. — Joey Villar