Asia-Pac bronco baseball under way

The 2005 Asia Pacific Zone Bronco Baseball Championship unfolds today with powerhouse Chinese-Taipei taking on host Marikina City and Japan tackling Team Philippines at the Sto. Niño Baseball grounds in Marikina City.

City Mayor Maria Lourdes Fernando (MCF) and Rodolfo "Boy" Tingzon Jr., president of the organizing Philippine Tot Baseball Foundation, will grace the 10 a.m. inaugurals set at the well-maintained field fronting the Marikina River.

"This is the first time the country is hosting this event," said Tingzon, who is the Southeast Asian region’s representative to the Pony Baseball/Softball International. "And we’re happy that it’s going to be staged here in Marikina where the baseball program for the youth is really impressive."

Aside from Fernando and Tingzon, others guests include Shuhe Ugawa, Japan’s press officer representing their Ambassador, Chinese Taipei Economic and Cultural Office representative Hsien-Hsieng Wu, Asia’s founding Tot baseball president Rodolfo Tingzon Sr. and Philippine Amateur Baseball Association chief Hector Navasero. Philippine Sports Commission chairman William "Butch" Ramirez and Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco are also invited to grace the opening rites.

Open to players 11-12 years old, the four-day event offers a berth to the Bronco Baseball World Series slated Aug. 4-10 in Monterey, California in the United States where Puerto Rico is the reigning champion.

Lito Ordoñez will handle the RP squad, made up of a selection of boys from Metro Manila and nearby cities while Marikina City, which reportedly impressed the International Tot Baseball Federation for its grassroots program, will field an equally competitive squad.