Dolphins edge Unibikers, near crown

Cebu pounced on a fielding error by Dumaguete in the ninth and final inning to pound out a come-from-behind 4-3 victory yesterday and zero in on Baseball Philippines’ Series IV crown at the Rizal Baseball Stadium.

With the bases loaded, Jonash Ponce scored the game-winning run after the Unibikers’ playing assistant team manager and third baseman Kelly Culubong failed to handle Jonard Pareja’s grounder, giving the Dolphins a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three title series.

It was a big win for the Dolphins, who rallied from 0-3 with two innings left, scoring three runs in the bottom eighth to draw level before clinching the victory in the ninth.

The Dolphins, winners of the BP Series II of the league organized by Community Sports Inc., go for the crown at 10 a.m. today.

A Dumaguete victory, however, will send the series into winner-take-all match on Dec. 21.

“Baseball is about all nine innings. It’s not like basketball that when you’re ahead, you just need to kill time to win,” said Cebu team manager Isaac Bacarisas in Filipino.

Cebu feasted on 16-year-old reliever Justin Payongayong in the last inning as Ponce took a walk, dashed to second on a Carlo Conge bunt and reached third on a passed ball before scoring on a Joseph Orillana walk.

It was a heartbreaker for Dumaguete, which curiously pulled out starter Darwin dela Calzada in place of pitching manager Lito Pulgo.