PHILAB capped a four-match romp over the weekend with back-to-back wins over National University yesterday to capture the PSC Chairman’s Baseball Classic at Rizal Memorial Ballpark.
Composed of the nucleus of the defunct Philippine team, Philab drubbed National University, 4-2, to clinch the title in the afternoon after the Ballbusters had crushed the Bulldogs, 10-1, in the morning to forge a winner-take-all duel.
Philab, dumped by La Salle in the loser’s bracket of the double round knockout eliminations, started its final push for the championship by eliminating the Archers Saturday morning before nipping UAAP champion Ateneo, 6-5, in the afternoon.
The Eagles had earlier dropped a 6-5 decision to the Bulldogs in a battle of unbeaten teams for the first title slot that also comes with a twice-to-beat bonus in the championship showdown.
After dominating the Bulldogs the first time around, Philab again underscored its superiority by taking a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning of the title playoff.
Francis Candela broke the ice for Philab in the fourth inning with a run-scoring single, Philab added two more runs in the fifth on a throwing error by NU catcher Alfredo Olivarez and came up with another in the sixth.
NU managed to chalk up one run in the seventh and managed only another run in a desperate rally in the ninth.
The weekend tourney among the top 16 clubs in the country was held in honor of Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia. It was aimed at producing a new national team in line with the planned rebuilding of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association.