Laguna, Agoncillo, Pasig IXs reach semis

Laguna, Pasig and Agoncillo hurdled their respective rivals to book spots in the men’s semifinals in the rain-delayed 2006 National Open Softball Championships at the Rosario Grounds yesterday.

Laguna blanked Taguig, 3-0, and Pasig smashed Muntinlupa, 12-5, Friday to sweep their respective groups and clinch the first two berths in the page system semis.

Agoncillo, a small town in Tagaytay, slammed Muntinlupa, 8-0, yesterday to gain entry to the semis via the backdoor.

The meet is organized by Asaphil chief Harry Angping and sponsored by Purefoods, Monterey, Funchum, Accel and Cebuana Lhuillier group of companies.

The Fidel Moncera-mentored Agoncillo squad actually finished second behind Group 1 topnotcher Pasig with a 4-1 (win-loss) slate but made it through after finishing with the highest quotient score.

The men’s semis starts today with Laguna’s Roger Rojas taking on Pasig’s Ronnilon Pagkaliwagan in an interesting pitching duel at 7:30 a.m. in Rosario. Agoncillo faces Group 2 topnotcher Cavite.

Cebu and Zamboanga, tied at the helm on 3-1 cards, were contesting the last slot.

Cavite was playing with Cebuana Lhuillier while Zamboanga was tackling Antipolo when heavy rains delayed the staging of the matches.

Over at the Taguig grounds, University of Santo Tomas beat University of the Philippines, 3-1, to remain unscathed in five games in the women’s side.

Aiza dela Torre pitched a three-hitter to power the Tigresses to the victory with two games left.

The Lady Maroons later bounced back with a 6-3 win over Mail and More to remain in second place with a 5-1 record.

Rizal and Caloocan, spearheaded by national team catcher Heidi Bongas, also kept their semis bids alive by beating La Salle, 8-2, and Makati, 9-2.