Air Force, Caviteño nines face off in semis

MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion Air Force, the No. 1 team in Group A after the elimination round, will be facing El Caviteño, the second best squad in Group B, in the main attraction of the four-game crossover Final Four hostilities in the Cebuana Lhuillier National Open softball championships today at the Rosario Sports Complex in Pasig City.

Rizal Technological University of Mandaluyong, which emerged at the top of the standing in Group B, battles Taguig City, also in one-game knockout affair.

The Airmen-Caviteño skirmish is set early afternoon followed by the RTU-Taguig collision with the winners advancing into another one-game championship playoff later in the afternoon today.

In the women’s side, it will be the Ateneo-Air Force combine and the Pampanga Legends, which topped Group A and Group B elimination round, respectively, against Adamson University-Cavite and Adamson Manila.

Tournament director Jun Veloso announced that games in the semis start at 7 a.m. at the Rosario Complex.

Taguig actually earned the last ticket in the semis without lifting a bat when Dasmariñas of Cavite defaulted its last elimination round game against Cabuyao of Laguna yesterday depriving Antipolo City of its place in the Final four.

 With Cabuyao’s walkover win over Dasmariñas, coach Larry Arranzaso’s boys ended up in a tie with their counterparts from Taguig and Antipolo, all having identical 4-2 win-loss card each behind the unbeaten Airmen in Group A.

Taguig edged both Cabuyao and Antipolo on the strength of a lesser runs scored against the team.

What makes the semis and even the finals contests interesting is all eight teams - Air Force, RTU, Cavite and Taguig in the men’s division play and the Legends, Ateneo-Air Force, and the two Adamson squads in the distaff side - have members of the Philippine Blu Boys and Blu Girls in their lineups.