Baseball committee to pick coach for SEAG team

MANILA, Philippines - The ad hoc committee tasked to run the affairs of Philippine baseball is considering six candidates to handle the coaching chores for the Phl team to the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

Ely Baradas, chair of the ad hoc body, said they had come up with a short list of prospects for the job. They are Jhoel Palanog of Baseball Philippines champ Manila Sharks, Saki Bacarisas of Cebu Dolphins, Jeffrey Santiago of Alabang Tigers, and Ricardo Jimenez, Edgar delos Reyes and Wilfredo Hidalgo from the national team.

“We’re choosing from a list of six candidates to be the head coach, all of them experienced A-1 coaches,” said Baradas, who convened a meeting of the caretaker group last Friday to jumpstart the formation of the Phl squad after getting mandate from the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

“We’ve set an interview for each of the candidates on Wednesday to know their programs for the team. We’ll then choose the head coach and from there, pick two assistant coaches and begin the selection process for the 22-man national team,” Baradas added.

The ad hoc committee will defer finalizing the lineup until Sept. 4 to give chance to young pitchers who are currently in Japan for an AAA tourney to vie for slots upon their return to Manila.

“There are prospective pitchers in the juniors team who could complement the team that will try to win the gold medal again in the SEA Games,” Baradas said.

The 11-man committee is forming the Phl IX in time for the Sept. 15 deadline set by the Indonesian organizers for the submission of entries by name.