Doormat Unibikers stun Patriots

MANILA—Doormat Dumaguete exploded for five runs in the ninth inning and denied Taguig a better semifinal placing with an 8-4 win yesterday at the close of the Baseball Philippines Series 8 eliminations at the Alabang Country Club.

Arvin Plaza’s RBI double highlighted the endgame splurge as the Unibikers scored only their second win in 10 games, the same card of fellow also-ran Alabang.

The loss left the Patriots in fourth spot at 4-6, behind the Batangas Bulls (5-5). A win would have given Taguig the No. 3 spot over Batangas due to a higher batting percentage.

Now the Patriots will have to reckon with three-peat seeking and top qualifier Manila (9-1) in the semifinals with the Sharks holding a twice-to-beat advantage.

Cebu, the No. 2 team in the eliminations at 8-2, will also have the same privilege when it goes up against Batangas in the other semifinal showdown next week.

The Unibikers drew first blood with a run in the second inning when Felipe Carlos Remollo scurried home on Nelson Salazar’s sacrifice.

The Patriots retaliated with a two-run binge in the third when Nikko Reyes scored on an error and Jeffrey Hardillo singled home Denver Largo.

Dumaguete scored two runs in the fifth to wrest the lead, 3-2, but Taguig tied it three innings later on an RBI single by Justing Payongayong.

After the five-run Dumaguete rampage in the upper ninth, Taguig finalized scoring with a single run in its half of the last frame.

National team pitcher Ernesto Binarao went all the way for Dumaguete, giving up nine hits, walking one and striking out seven batters.

Fellow PH player Darwin dela Calzada of Taguig was the losing pitcher. He yielded three hits and four runs, three of them in the ninth.

Linescores: R H E
DUMAGUETE—010 020 005—8 9 5
TAGUIG—002 000 011—4 9 6