Young Filipino batters stun mighty Japan

MANILA, Philippines — Beating Japan — one of the strongest, if not the strongest, baseball-playing countries in the world — is close to just being a dream.

But on this one magical Monday, a group of brave young Filipino batters did what was once unthinkable and pulled off a shock 8-4 victory over the mighty Japanese in the 12-under class of the tough All-Japan Championship at the Aoba no Mori field in Japan.

So sensational was the result that it reverberated and celebrated back home by the Filipinos through viral posts on social media.

Darvin Reyes and Kyle Villafana are coaching this valiant team, with Maricar Sason as team manager.

It was one of the two triumphs pulled off by the Nationals that catapulted them straight to the super round, where they hope to achieve another feat — win the crown.

But for now, the squad, composed of players from different schools, cities and baseball programs back home, is just ecstatic to accomplish what had never been done before — shock a World No. 1 Japanese team on its own precious soil.

It also showed the world that the Philippines, which is ranked 24th in the planet, deserved their place in the international stage.