SEA Games baseball: PH Clouters notch No. 4

PALEMBANG, Indonesia—The Filipino clouters are showing that they deserve to be in the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

Nearly missing the trip here due to lack of funds, the Nationals are now gunning for at least a silver in the baseball competitions.

They blanked the Indonesians, 4-0, on Thursday to sweep the eliminations with four wins.

On Sunday, the clouters, who were given the go-signal by the Philippine Olympic Committee late last month after businessman Marty Eizmendi issued the guarantee of payment for their participation, stunned the defending champion Thais, 9-2, at the baseball stadium of Jakabaring Sport City.

The Filipinos then smothered the Vietnamese, 10-0, on Monday and dumped the Malaysians by the same score on Tuesday.

It was the first loss for the Indonesians, the Filipinos’ strongest rival for the gold medal. The Indonesians also shocked the Thais, 7-5, and matched the Filipinos’ feat of blanking both the Vietnamese (15-0) and the Malaysians (14-0).

The Filipinos and the Indonesians will clash for the title on Sunday.

With the Thais sidetracked and the Indonesians tamed, the Filipinos, mentored here by Edgar delos Reyes, appear headed for redemption. After all, the Filipinos were once the baseball kingpin of Asia way back in 1954.