MANILA, Philippines - Manila’s two teams pulled off big victories yesterday to remain in title hunt in Day 2 of the Southeast Asian Youth Baseball and Softball Tournament at the Ateneo de Manila University Loyola, Quezon City grounds.
The Big City bets’ first team blasted the Singaporeans, 14-9, to remain on track for a third straight title in the major girls’ 15-and-under category in this event backed by Mister Donut, Tokyo Tokyo, KFC, Gatorade, Pepsi, Philtrust Bank, Sta. Lucia Realty, STI, Knights Capital, Pioneer Insurance, Liberty Telecom, Adidas, Alaska Milk, Inquirer, Fe S. Panlilio Jewellers and PLDT.
Manila 2, on the other hand, dominated Singapore, 24-9, to post its second straight win in the senior girls’ 18-and-under section.
Czar Buenviaje drove in four runs and scored six times while Chacha Bamba and Isabel Gondez batted in three and two runs, respectively, to help power Manila to the victory.
Manila 2 also continued to show the way in the boys’ minor 12-under division with two straight victories in a tie with Singapore.
Manila 2, which blasted Bangkok, 7-0, earlier, smothered Jakarta, 9-1, to remain unbeaten while Singapore joined the hosts by blanking Perth, Australia, 23-0.
The host, represented by teams from the International Little League of Manila, suffered a setback as its Manila 2 squad squandered an eight-run lead and dropped a 13-14 setback to Jakarta.
Manila 2, however, stayed in the title hunt as it remained on top with a 2-1 (win-loss) slate.
Manila skidded to No. 4 with a 1-2 record in the same division after it absorbed a 3-21 loss to Singapore, which improved to 1-1.
At the end of the day, ILLAM head coach Randy Dizer remained confident of sweeping all five divisions.
“We’re just on the second day and the teams are just playing for semifinal positions. The real battle begins in Day 4 (tomorrow),” he said.