International Little League Association of Manila nine trips Perth, gains semis

MANILA, Philippines - International Little League Association of Manila-1 leaned on the all-around game of Ines Diaz as it edged Perth, 14-13, yesterday to sweep its way to the semifinals of the Southeast Asian Youth Baseball and Softball tournament at the Loyola grounds in Ateneo.

ILLAM 1 rallied from three runs down with a seven-run binge in the final two innings, including a two-run blast off Perth hurler Samantha Maughan to give the hosts a 14-10 lead.

Diaz then took over on the mound and staved off a late fightback by the Aussies, who could only manage just three runs.

The win, the Big City bets’ third in row, gave them the top seeding in the semis where they will face Manila-2, which bowed to Singapore, 6-14.

Five of ILLAM’s teams also advanced to the next phase of the meet backed by Mister Donut, Inquirer, Tokyo Tokyo, KFC, Gatorade, Pepsi, Philtrust Bank, Sta. Lucia Realty, STI, Knights Capital, Pioneer Insurance, Liberty Telecom, Adidas, Alaska Milk, Fe S. Panlilio Jewellers and PLDT.

Manila-2 slammed Perth, 21-10, for its third straight triumph in the minor boys category while Manila-1 trounced Bangkok, 6-4, to remain in the hunt.

The Manila senior boys’ squad eked out a pulsating 7-6 triumph over Perth to remain in the semis race with a 2-1 (win-loss) slate.

In the senior girls’ section, Manila 1 thumped Perth, 13-7, and came back to whip Singapore, 14-7, and bounce back into contention.

Manila-2, however, failed to keep the momentum of its back-to-back wins on opening day as it dropped a 6-8 decision to Perth yesterday.