UST snatches softball title

What was expected to be a tight ballgame turned out to be a one-sided affair yesterday as Santo Tomas silenced Adamson, 7-0, for the women’s senior softball crown in the second Manila Youth Games at the Rizal Memorial ballpark.

Esmeralda Tayag, a veteran of the 2001 World Girls Softball Championship in Florida, was a virtual wrecking ball. She allowed just five hits in seven full innings as Santo Tomas finally won the title it lost to Adamson in last year’s finals.

Tayag, a stocky 19-year-old, outplayed her counterpart Johanna Caungan in their pitching battle which lasted almost two hours under the blazing sun.

"Talo talaga. No question about that," said Filomeno "Boy" Codiñera, the Adamson coach who’s considered as one of the greatest ballplayers the country has ever produced and who, in his heyday, played for Santo Tomas.

The Lady Tigers broke the ice in the third frame before peppering Caungan with more hits and runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh frames.

Polytechnic University of the Philippines took third place.

Antonio Villegas High School took a tougher time winning the 15-under girls’ crown at the expense of Jose P. Laurel School, 14-13, while BEATA Elementary School of Pandacan breezed past Moises Salvador from Sampaloc, 16-4, for the 11-12 boys’ baseball.

In gymnastics, Jervic Caaya of BEATA and Masami Shenoda of Barrio Obrero won three gold medals each in the men’s and women’s artistic event.

Caaya, 13, flexed his muscles for this year’s Palarong Pambansa by winning in the men’s artistic (6.40), horse vault (8.15) and all-around (14.72) while Shenoda, 12, delivered in the balance beam (4.75), floor exercise (4.40) and all-around (9.15).

The weeklong event organized by the Manila Sports Council under Ali Atienza comes to a close today with finals in volleyball, taekwondo and gymnastics.

In badminton, a dozen gold medals were disputed in the 15-under, 12-under and 10-under categories yesterday.

Paul Jay Dawal of Team SAIS won the boys’ singles then teamed up with Adrian Pagsanjan to win the doubles while Karyn Velez, an independent, won the girls’ singles then teamed up with Janina Paredes to win the doubles. The other gold in the 15-under class, the mixed doubles, went to Angelica de Guzman and Jeffrey Villanueva of F. C. Calderon.

In the 12-under class, Romel Malgapo of District 4 won the boys’ singles, Kristine Joy Lagmay of Legarda E.S. the girls’ doubles, James Peter Espineda and Mark Bryan Florentino of A. Regidor E.S. the boys’ doubles, Cherrie Rose Tibo and Joannabelle Valbuena, also of Regidor the girls’ doubles, and Alyssa de Guia and Francisco Cornelo of District 2 the mixed doubles.

In the 10-under side, Cedric Espanol of M. Lacson won in the boys’ singles, and Zuseth Parola of District 3 in the girls’ singles.