Sharks spill Uni-bikers, force rubber

MANILA, Philippines - Starter Tawi Delos Reyes twirled a one-hit shutout and Manila came through with a four-run binge in the fourth to post a 6-1 victory over Dumaguete yesterday and force a sudden death for the first finals berth in Baseball Philippines Series 9 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Delos Reyes led the way for the Sharks, yielding just a run in three and one-third innings of play before Gian Llaguno, Kelly Culubong and Emerson Atilano took charge in offense with run-scoring hits in the fourth to break the game wide-open.

The third-seeded Sharks thus foiled the twice-to-beat Uni-bikers’ bid to advance to the finals outright, forcing another game next Sunday and keeping their bid for a fourth straight championship in the league organized by Community Sports Inc. alive.

“We won’t give this series away that easy,” said Manila coach Jhoel Palanog. “The guys accepted the challenge and they stuck with our game plan of pitching and defense.”

Edward Landicho and Fernando Badrina walked and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Francis Gesmundo. Llaguno and Culubong pushed home Landicho and Badrina with a single before Mark Ong stole third and home to score.

Atilano followed suit with a base hit to right field to score Culubong and give Manila a 4-0 lead.

Dumaguete scored on a double by Mike Gante but Jayson Dimacutac took over from Delos Reyes, yielding seven hits but keeping the Uni-bikers scoreless. The Sharks then scored a run each in the fifth and seventh to complete the rout.

Meanwhile, top seed Cebu and No. 4 Alabang are disputing the other finals seat at presstime with the Dolphins needing just a win to advance to the finals of the league sponsored by Gatorade, Emperador Light, Clark Development Corp., Harbour Centre, Philippine Transmarine Corp., Summit Water and Eagle Sky Inc. with backing from Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amateur Baseball Association and the Philippine Umpires Association.

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