ILLAM, Munti clouters enter KO stage

MANILA, Philippines - ILLAM and Muntinlupa routed their respective rivals to secure berths in the round-of-16 in little league baseball of the Little League Philippine Series at the Sumulong grounds in Marikina City yesterday.

ILLAM paraded a wide array of pitchers and shut out a hapless Valenzuela squad, 22-0, to annex its third straight victory for the solo lead in Group A of the National Capital Region bracket.

Ken Agcoaili, Marcel de Guzman, Kaleb Abergas and Matt San Juan pitched just an inning each and combined to hold Valenzuela to just a hit and assure ILLAM of a spot in the knockout phase.

“All but one of my 14 players can pitch so it’s really an advantage and a luxury for us,” said ILLAM coach Anthony Dizer, whose assistants are former national team pitchers Joseph Orillana and Ruel Batuto, in Pilipino.

In the same bracket, Muntinlupa downed Antipolo, 9-1, to trail ILLAM in the standings with a 2-0 card.

In Group A of the Northern/Central Luzon division at the Marist field in Marikina Heights, San Antonio, Zambales turned back Ilocos Norte, 9-7, to make a return trip to the round-of-16.

Aljay Baguio and Paul Martin Rezada batted in a pair of runs in the sixth and final inning to break a 7-all count before Christian Jay Rondon fanned the last batter in Ilocos Norte’s Ernesto Nacional to secure the team’s third victory.

“We’re hoping to surpass our quarterfinal effort last year and we’re close in doing that,” said San Antonio coach Conrado Gutierrez.

ILLAM’s final elimination round game tomorrow against Muntinlupa will be a duel for the top seeding although Dizer wants to use it as a test for his team since Muntinlupa is picked as one of the teams to beat in the event.

“Our match against them will only be for positioning but we want to use it as a test game for us because Muntinlupa is one of the stronger teams here,” said Dizer, younger brother of former national team coach Randy.

In Group A action over at Boystown in Brgy. Parang, Northern Samar was leading 22-0 against Naga when the latter conceded due to injuries to a couple of its players.

North Cebu, for its part, took the lead after it won via default over Team 5, two days after it routed Naga, 22-0.

Over at Marist field in Marikina Heights, Bulacan overpowered Mountain Province, 17-2, to roll to its third straight victory in Group A of the North/Central Luzon division for a berth in the playoff round.

It was the Bulacan-based hitters’ third win in row after slamming Pampanga Tuesday, 14-3, and Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, 9-7, the day before.

It was Mt. Province’s first defeat after turning back Palayan in a slugfest, 21-11, Tuesday before drawing a bye two days ago.

Palayan nailed its first win after dropping its first two outings by edging Aurora in a pulsating 9-7 result.

In senior league softball at Boystown, Gawad Kalinga Smokey Mountain dumped Sta. Cruz, Laguna, 14-4, to streak to its third straight win.

The Smokey Mountain batters other victories came at the expense of Naga, 21-0, Monday and Bulacan, 8-6, the next day.

Dasmariñas bounced back from its opening day defeat to Sta. Cruz with wins over Naga, 27-2, Tuesday and Camarines Norte, 10-0, yesterday.

ILLAM also struck in other fronts as it beat Naga, 26-2, in junior league softball and Pampanga West, 11-1, in senior league baseball.

ILLAM, however, fell to Tanauan in a heartbreaking 12-8 setback at the Sto. Niño field.