La Salle top favorite in slo-pitch tourney

MANILA, Philippines - Two time runner-up De La Salle University will be this year’s favorite to win the Cebuana Lhuiillier-Alumni Slo-pitch Softball League (ASSL) set to start tomorrow at the Alabang Country Club.

“We recruited our younger alumni to support the veterans and we believe we have good chances to win this year, “ said La Salle team captain Bernie Gapuz, who has been preparing his team since November last year with old reliables Majo Araullo, Mike Ochoa, Anthony Suntay, and Butch Madrigal still on the roster with Baseball Pilipinas MVP and national pitcher Joseph Orillana beefing up the team together with Leslie Suntay, Jon DiObago, and Bacchue Ledesma.

Expected to crowd out La Salle for the championship are two-time champion UP Diliman, Ateneo’s Blu Batters, International School-Manila, and dark horse UP-Los Baños.

Defending champion UP Diliman has three national players on its lineup – pitcher Darwin de la Calzada and sluggers Bio Roxas and Niño Tator but only one national player is allowed to be fielded at any time to balance the competition.

Other UP-Diliman stalwarts are team captain Edmund Esguerra, Kiko Diaz, Jun Veloso, and actor Richard Gomez.

UP-Los Baños, meanwhile, has teamed up with Laguna State Polytechnic University to strengthen its title bid. Prominent UP-LB alumnus and former national coach Ely Baradas will manage the combined team and will be depending on team captain Armand Bantoc along with big hitters Doc de Padua, Baron Alquiza, Sonny Camacho, together with LSPU’s Ferdie and Francis Avila.

International School-Manila, last year’s surprise semifinalist, will also be back in action this year. The Bearcats, winless during the elimination, surprised everyone when it clawed its way to the playoffs.

Ateneo will be bannered by national team catcher Melvin Villegas and Julius Visaya who were recruited by team captain Ricky Gumaru.

 to beef up the team’s core group of Francis Gono, Benjo Afuang, Chris Ong, RT de Jesus, and pitcher Jun Muyco.