Pinoy tots start strong in As-Pac, stun Japanese

Team Philippines opened its campaign with a bang as it stunned Japan, 7-2, yesterday to inch closer to the finals of the 2005 Asia Pacific Zone Bronco Baseball Championship at the Sto. Niño Baseball grounds in Marikina City.

Local boy Laurren Vispo pitched a five-hitter and struck out a total of 13 batters in a no-relief job as RP notched its first win against Japan since trouncing the Japanese eight years ago in Ota, Japan.

"Iniisip ko po kasi Pilipinas na ang dinadala namin kaya ginalingan ko talaga," said the 12-year-old Vispo, who studies in Barangay Sta. Elena but lives in Nangka in this riverside city famous for producing world-class shoes.

"Maganda ang pitching niya, hindi siya napagod," said RP team coach Lito Ordoñez, who is the commissioner of the softball and baseball youth program in this city.

Marikina Mayor Maria Lourdes Fernando and organizing Philippine Tot Baseball Foundation president Boy Tingzon ushered in the four-day tournament staking a berth in the Bronco Baseball World Series set from Aug. 4-10 in Monterey, California. Asia’s founding Tot baseball president Rodolfo Tingzon Sr. also graced the simple opening rites held in front of the historic Marikina River.

Powerhouse Chinese Taipei, who topped last year’s event held in Beijing, China, played host Marikina City, a guest team preparing for the Pan Pacific Baseball Games slated from Aug. 12-16 also here, in an exhibition game at press time yesterday.

The taller, big-hitting Taiwanese are gearing up for a much-awaited duel against the smaller but big-hearted Filipinos at 10 a.m. today which could very well be a sneak preview of the finals.

"This is a big win for us, it’s very inspiring," said Tingzon, Southeast Asia’s representative to Pony Baseball International.

A fielding error by the Filipinos allowed Yasunori Nakamura, who hit a single off a line drive to center field earlier, to sneak in a run, giving the Japanese a 1-0 lead right on top of the first inning.

It stunned the local hurlers a bit except for Vispo, who calmly bundled out the next five Japanese batters that rubbed off to the rest of the team as the Filipinos scored three straight runs at the bottom of the second inning on a two-run triple by Joseph Angelo Ocampo and a sacrifice hit by Christian Paul Icaro.