HEMET, CALIFORNIA—Team Manila-Philippines repeated over Central Hemet Xplosion, 5–1, to retain the 2018 Pony World Series 18-Under softball championship crown—the first back-to-back title by the Philippines and an Asian country—at Diamond Valley Park here on Sunday.
Ace pitcher Alma Tauli, the 17-year-old hurler from Norzagaray, Bulacan, capped her dazzling performance with eight strike outs and a couple of defensive stops that left the 2016 champion squad in awe.
Earlier in the semifinals, the Manila-PH girls scored an 11-0 shutout of the Riverside County Lady Laces.
The Big City girls also ruled the 2012 Big League 18-U World Series for the first time and were voted as co-Athletes of the Year during the 2012 Philippine Sportswriters Association awards.