Illam Big Leaguers win As-Pac 16-18 Baseball Title
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 18 Jul 2010
Sports continues to give the country and newly-elected President Benigno ?PNoy? Aquino III something to be proud of. Early Thursday evening, it was the turn of the International Little League of Manila (ILLAM) Big League boys baseball team to make the entire nation happy by winning the Asia Pacific championship in the 16-18 division and joined their countymen in separate categories in girls softball to the World Series.
The Illam Big Leaguers squandered what looked like an insurmountable 6-0 lead built with two outs in the seventh and final inning but held on to down Guam, 13-10, in the next four extra frames in Surabaya, Indonesia and like the Manila Big Leaguers and the Bacolod Major Leaguers will proceed to the United States in their quest for the world championship in their class.
This year?s Big League Boys Baseball World Series is set July 28 to Aug. 4 in Easley, South Carolina where the best youth ballplayers in the universe will converge to decide which country deserves the honor to be called world champion.
Earlier the same day, at the Senayan Sports Complex field in Jakarta, the Manila Golden Girls topped the Big League girls softball plum without surrendering a run to earn the right, too, to represent Asia Pacific in their version of the World Series August in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Also in Jakarta, the Bacolodnons annexed the 11-12 Asia Pacific division title and will carry the colors in the Major League World Series, also August in Portland, Oregon.
There was no come-from-behind victory, but an all-too-familiar ending just the same for the ILLAM clouters, who needed though all of their strength in that epic 11-inning conquest of the Guamanians.
?Bam Garcia, Franchino Ramos, Adrian Bernardo and Inigo Olivares delivered a hit each at the top of the 11th inning as ILLAM came through with six runs that proved enough cushion to weather a last-ditch surge by the Guamanians.
Notorious for starting slow, ILLAM had earlier in the tournament rallied to win its last four games to make it into the medal play.
Guam dramatically turned the tables on ILLAM in the finals by rallying from 0-6 down with two outs to tie the game at the bottom of the seventh and send the final to extra innings.
For awhile, flashes of that nightmarish seventh inning stared at ILLAM when Guam banged in a three-run homerun to cut the lead, 10-13. But second baseman Seba Martinez caught the fly ball for the final out.
The Big League title turned out to be the only crown won by the Philippines in baseball, after ILLAM?s Major League (11-12) and Muntinlupa?s Junior League (13-14) absorbed similar 0-7 defeats to Chinese-Taipei teams in the finals of their respective divisions.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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