Cebu and Makati mix it up today at the Rizal Memorial baseball field, kicking off the much-awaited action in Baseball Philippines, a new league aimed at further developing the sport and at the same time develop players who can be tapped and trained to become members of the national team.
Gametime is set at 9 a.m. with RP team mainstays Darwin Dela Calzada and Joseph Orillana leading the Cebu Dolphins’ bid against the Makati Mariners, to be bannered by national team members Roel Batuto and Wilfredo Hidalgo.
Former RP team mainstay and La Salle coach Isaac Bacarisas will be the man at the helm of Cebu while Jeffrey Santiago, coach of UST in the UAAP, will handle the Mariners in the tournament put up by Community Sports, Inc. (CSI) and presented by Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs.
Simple rites will mark the opening of the five-team league, which also serves as a venue for the RP squad gearing up for this year’s SEA Games with the national team members evenly divided among the competing teams.
“The league will also help Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) in its campaign to discover more talents who will represent the country in the future international competitions,” said Chito Loyzaga, Baseball Philippines director for marketing.
Manila, handled by coach Jhoel Palanog and starring Charlier Labrador and Rommel Roja, will carry the monicker Sharks and will see action in the 1 p.m. encounter with the Laguna Tigers, who will be led by Alejandro Velasquez and mentored by Edgardo delos Reyes, current head coach of the RP team.
For the pilot series, the five teams will clash in single round-robin series with the top finisher clashing with the No. 4 team in the semis and the Nos. 2 and 3 squads clashing in the other semis duel. Winners will dispute the title in a winner-take-all match.
“We promise the fans of exciting baseball matches because majority of the participants of this pilot series tournament are players from the UAAP and national team,” Loyzaga said.
PABA vice president Ely Baradas said Baseball Philippines, backed by Wilson Sports and Squeezed 4 U in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission, PABA and Solar Sports, is a dream come true for PABA which for so many years has been looking for a partner in its search for future national players.