PH baseball eyes bigger prize

Returning to the international stage last year with a flourish, the Philippines brought home the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) East Asia Men’s Baseball Cup and looks to do so again with higher stakes on the table.

The Filipinos ruled the 2023 version of the tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, and a repeat act in Clark, Pampanga, from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 will galvanize their participation in the Asian championships, which offers a possible route to the world championships.

“If there’s a tournament where we want to compete in, this certainly is the one,’’ said Philippine Amateur Baseball Association president Chito Loyzaga in hosting the continental qualifier.

The two best countries in the seven-nation meet will advance to the 2025 BFA Asian Baseball Championships where world No. 1 Japan awaits them along with South Korea, Chinese Taipei and China.

Beside the Philippines, national squads from Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia are vying for those spots.

“We have the advantage. Besides playing on our field, we ranked better against these countries,’’ said Loyzaga.

“But we shouldn’t be too confident, we know that these nations are building up for the tournament, especially Hong Kong and Thailand,’’ he added.

Two more teams from the west Asian region will join the eight-country continental championships, after which the medalists progress to the U-23 Baseball World Cup 2026.“The group where we will land in the Asian championships is critical. If you ask me, I prefer us to be grouped with China, which will give us a chance,’’ said Loyzaga. INQ