MATT Laurel drove in the winning run as the Alabang Tigers rallied from a disastrous start to subdue the Batangas Bulls, 13-12, in 11 innings at the start of the Baseball Philippines Series 9 yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
With one out and runners on first and second, Laurel slammed a single to left field to score Adrian Bernardo as the Tigers completed a comeback from 0-8 after the first inning against the two-time champion Bulls.
Manila opened its title bid later in the afternoon with an easy 8-2 win over Taguig while the Dumaguete Unibikers upset the two-time champion Cebu Dolphins, 10-3.
Alabang, winless in the past five seasons, got on the scoreboard with two runs in the upper third then went 3-3-2 in the next three frames to grab the lead over the Series 3 and Series 5 champion at 10-8.
Batangas picked up a run in the lower sixth but Alabang added two more in the next inning for 12-9. The Bulls needed a three-run explosion in the lower ninth to send the game to extra innings.
Bernardo picked up the win for Alabang after taking over in the third inning from Carlos Muñoz, who replaced Carlos Laurel in the first.
The Sharks launched their bid for a fourth title with three run-scoring binges in the first and seventh frames to highlight their dominance over the Patriots.
Catcher Edward Landicho hit a two-run triple in the first, while outfielder Alvin Peralta starred in the seventh with a two-run single for the Sharks.