Manila, Philippines - Team Manila reasserted its mastery over Indonesia, scoring another one-sided 16-0 shutout victory to complete its sweep of their Asia Pacific Regional Big League Softball series and book another stint in the World Series in Michigan in August.
Rizza Bernardino stood at the forefront of another fierce charge by the Filipina batters, finishing the best-of-three series with four homeruns with Michelle Lentija, Andrea May Gonzales and Gene Joy Parilla adding one homer apiece.
The clincher actually paled in comparison with Team Manila’s 23-0 romp in the opener before it pummeled the hosts with a 27-0 rout in the second game.
The sweep thus formalized the team’s stint in the Big League World Series set in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Aug. 02-08.
Team Manila, handled by coach Ana Maria Santiago and headed by Manila Little League president and Councilor Che Borromeo, is composed of seven players from Adamson, three from University of Santo Tomas, and one each from University of the East and Polytechnic University of the Phils. and backstopped by veterans, who competed last year in the Big League World Series, including Bernardino, Parilla, Lentija and Glesyl Opjer.
Borromeo and Santiago cited the all-out support given by Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Rosario Aguinaldo and the Filipino community in Indonesia along with Philippine sports commissioner Jolly Gomez, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and former president Joseph Estrada.