The Taiwanese came into the game in superb form, unlike in their 7-4 victory over Marikina City in an exhibition match Friday as they connected a total of 10 hits, including three atop the second inning which they translated into five quick runs.
The Filipinos, who shocked the Japanese, 7-2, Friday for the first time since toppling the team from the Far East eight years ago in Ota, Japan, sneaked three runs in the next two frames — two in the second and one in the third — and could have come closer if not for the opposing team’s superb fielding.
One instance showed left fielder Wang Chia Cheng fumble with a catch but quickly recovered it. He threw it straight to catcher Lin Chih Hao to tag out Laurren Vispo, the winning pitcher in RP’s first win, which could have easily been a run for the local bets.
Diminutive but lightning-quick Moises Adrian Cruz, the best catcher in the city’s baseball youth league, stole one though on another fielding error by Chinese-Taipei in the same inning to cut the visiting lead to 3-5 going into the fourth frame.
But that proved to be the closest that the hosts could get as the Taiwanese, who topped last year’s event held in Beijing, China, piled up runs with a slew of hits that foiled the Filipinos, cheered on by a huge weekend crowd.
"Alam na namin na ganito ang lalaruin ng Chinese-Taipei, hindi lang namin alam na ganito kalaki ang magiging lamang nila (We expected that Chinese-Taipei will play good but we didn’t expect this to be rout)," said RP team coach Lito Ordoñez, who had to field in three hurlers — John Carlo Conge, Joseph Angelo Ocampo and Justin Payongayong — to offset their rivals’ talented rotation to no avail.
But Rodolfo "Boy" Tingzon Jr., president of the organizing Philippine Tot Baseball Foundation and Southeast Asia’s representative to the Pony Baseball/Softball International, saw it otherwise.
"Muntik na (We almost did it)," he said.
Despite the loss, Team Philippines, composed mainly by residents of this city known for manufacturing world-class shoes, still has a chance to make it to the finals.
That is if Chinese-Taipei scores just three runs against Japan when they collide at 10 a.m. today in this four-day event which offers a berth to the Bronco Baseball World Series set Aug. 4-10 in Monterey, California.
"Hindi pa naman tapos ang laban, may chance pa naman tayong pumasok sa finals kung talunin ng Chinese Taipei ang Japan (We aren’t finished yet, we still have a chance to enter the finals if Chinese-Taipei beats Japan)," added Ordonez, the commissioner of the city’s baseball youth league.
Tingzon said the one-game final is set tomorrow either at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.