Cebu thumps Taguig, takes top slot in semis

Series II champion Cebu outscored Forward Taguig, 4-2, at resumption of their match yesterday and cruised to an 11-3 victory to clinch the top seeding in semifinals of Baseball Philippines’ Series IV at the Rizal Baseball Stadium.

Way ahead, 7-1, after five innings when their game was stopped on account of darkness last Oct. 19, the Dolphins played just well enough to hold off the Patriots, 4-2, in four innings and fashion out the rout.

The win, Cebu’s eighth against two losses, assured the team of the No. 1 spot in the semis regardless of the result between Forward Taguig, which fell to 7-2, and Batangas at presstime.

Muntinlupa, meanwhile, needed seven extra innings to outlast Series III titlist Batangas, 5-4, and keep its hold of the No. 3 spot in today’s divisional playoffs in the league organized by Community Sports, Inc.

Pinch hitter Alvin Peralta batted in the game-winning run on the top of 16th inning to seal the Mariners’ fourth win against five losses.

As No. 3, Muntinlupa will face the No. 5 seed in the playoffs while the No. 4 and No. 6 squads face each other in the other duel.

Muntinlupa’s win was the longest played game, which was suspended due to inclement weather last Oct. 26 and the match knotted at four-all after eight innings, as it took the two teams 16 innings to finish the contest.

Mizuno, Gatorade, Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, Welcoat Paints, Industrial Enterprises, Inc., Harbour Centre, The Heritage Park and Agility Logistics are the tournament’s sponsors.

 with Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, PABA, Sports Radio and Makisig Sports as partners.