Bulls, Sharks begin baseball title duel

MANILA, Philippines - Batangas and Manila hope to come out strong from an 11-day rest as they clash in the opener of the Dunkin’ Donuts Baseball Philippines Series VII championship series at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium today.

The Bulls and the Sharks disposed of their respective semifinal rivals in contrasting fashion to arrange the best-of-three title showdown with odds just about even between the league’s leading teams.

Batangas, a combination of collegiate and high school players, swept the elims but had to fend off Alabang, 7-6, in the semis to stay on track for a third crown in the league presented by Dunkin’ Donuts. The Bulls ruled the league’s Series 3 and 5 editions.

The Harbour Centre-backed Manila, on the other hand, finished second to Batangas in the elims with a 4-1 slate then dominated Cebu, 13-5, in the semis to prime itself up for a sweep of this year’s titles in the league organized by Community Sports Inc.

Gametime is at 1 p.m. with the match to be telecast live on Sports Radio 918 AM. NBN-4 will air the game on a delayed basis.

Alabang and Cebu, meanwhile, slug it out in the battle for third place at 9 a.m.

Batangas beat Manila, 9-3, in their elims round encounter with Vio Roxas hitting a grand slam to key the Bulls’ romp.

“Once the series started, they were already the team to beat because of their line-up and their pitching,” said Manila coach Jhoel Palanog, referring to the Bulls.

But Batangas coach Randy Dizer opted to downplay their strength and said the Sharks remain the stronger team.

“Manila is still the team to beat,” said Dizer. “They are still the defending champions and they still have a complete team on offense and defense.”

Hurlers Vladymir Eguia and Romeo Jasmin will try to anchor the Bulls’ bid while Manila will pin its hopes on its talented pitching combination of Jon Jon Robles, last series’ Finals Most Valuable Player, and national mainstay Charlie Labrador.           

The league is sponsored by Gatorade, Rawling’s, Industrial Enterprises Inc., Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Harbour Centre and The Heritage Park with the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Philippine Umpires Association and Sports Radio 918 AM as partners.