MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Barakos waylaid an Indonesian side that seemed to have kept its best players under wraps, scoring a 12-2 rout to barge into the finals of the PONY Bronco-11 Championships in Singapore late Friday.
Diminutive Atong Natanauan played big again for the Filipino clouters, pitching a no-hitter and going four-of-four at bat in a virtual repeat of his scintillating performance against Russia, which they trampled, 20-0, last Thursday.
But last year’s Mustang Championship MVP is expected to have his hands full in the finals, also against the Indonesians, who opted to keep their three pitchers from their elims match, according to Phl coaches Ruben Angeles and Romar Landicho.
But the Barakos remain confident of their chances, motivated by their desire to clinch the lone berth in the PONY Bronco-11 World Series set July 25-31 in Chesterfield, Virginia as the Asia Pacific Zone representative.
The Barakos’ victory also made up for the Razcals’ failed bid in the PONY International Asia Pacific Zone Mustang (9-10 year-olds) championship after the latter dropped a sorry 7-8 setback to Indonesia and missed the finals, according to Philippine Tot Baseball president Boy Tingzon.
Coach Eric Guesmundo, however, cited his wards’ gritty stand in the see-sawing game. The Razcals split their double-header assignments Thursday, beating Vietnam, 21-0, but losing to Singapore team, 5-11.
Singapore and Indonesia dispute the crown and the slot in the Mustang World Series slated Aug. 2-6 in Texas.