2 International Little League Association of Manila nines advance to finals

MANILA, Philippines - International Little League Association of Manila sent two of its teams in the finals after hacking out emphatic victories yesterday in the Southeast Asian Youth Baseball and Softball Tournament at the Loyola grounds of Ateneo.

Manila 1 overpowered Manila 2, 21-6, to barge into the finals in the girls’ major softball division while Manila smothered Perth, 14-5, to likewise advance to the boys senior division championship on Saturday.

Led by Ines Diaz, who starred in a 14-13 win over Perth Tuesday, the host squad unloaded a five-run splurge in the second inning to gain an 11-5 lead that the other Manila team failed to mount to secure the win.

They will meet the winner of the Perth-Singapore contest – being played at press time – in the title showdown.

Miggy Santos blasted a three-run homer while Paolo Mallari and Angelo Esguerra belted a homer each in the fifth inning to spark a six-run siege that somehow decided the outcome of the game.

All in all, Esguerra had five RBIs apart from two other homers (in the second and seventh), while Santos and Renzo Ramos each added three runs.

In other games, Manila 2 whipped Perth, 7-4, for its fourth victory in the boys minor, while Bangkok edged Perth (7-6) and Singapore downed Jakarta (16-4).

The weeklong event, now on its fourth staging, is sponsored by Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mister Donut, Tokyo Tokyo, KFC, Gatorade, Pepsi, Philtrust Bank, Sta. Lucia Realty, STI College, Knights Capital, Pioneer Insurance, Liberty Telecom, Adidas, Alaska Milk, Fe S. Panlilio Jewellers and PL.     – Joey Villar