THE PHILIPPINES crushed Indonesia, 21-2, in five innings Tuesday to keep its title hopes alive in the 2016 Asia Pacific Intermediate League Baseball Tournament at Clark International Sports Complex at The Villages in Clark Field, Pampanga.
Bannered by Philippine Series champion Sarangani, the host team vented its ire on the hapless Indonesians as it bounced back from a 0-8 loss to Japan on opening-day.
Angelo Misawa and Lester Sanchez blasted a pair of two-run home runs in the third and fourth innings, respectively, as Saran-gani built an early 7-0 lead and improved to 1-1 in the tournament backed by Mister Donut and Philippine Sports Commission.
“We played better this time,” said Sarangani coach Lord Ken Naval. “We made more hits and had two home runs.”
The Filipinos had nine hits against Indonesia and four fewer errors than they committed in the setback to Japan.
The Japanese, represented by a team from Kaizuka prefecture, whipped Hong Kong, 11-0, in another abbreviated match and tightened their grip of top spot with a
2-0 record, ahead of idle Korea (1-0).
The loss meant early elimination for Indonesia, which also bowed to South Korea last Monday.
Meanwhile, International Little League of Manila tries to bounce back against deposed champion CNMI in Senior League Baseball.
The ILLAM batters are smarting from a crushing 4-21 defeat to Australia on Day One and coach Egay de los Reyes said his team has little room for error in their remaining assignments.
CNMI bombed out of the title race after a 0-16 loss to the Aussies (2-0). Cedelf P. Tupas