GK clouters halt Marikina nine win run

TANAUAN CITY, Batangas, Philippines – GK Smokey Mountain made its presence felt in the Little League Philippines Series 2013, dealing erstwhile unbeaten Marikina a 6-4 beating in Junior League Baseball action yesterday in Barangay Bagumbayan.

The boys from Tondo seized an early 4-0 lead and didn’t let the game slip away with solid defense to rack up their fourth straight win and boost their bid in Group B with 4-1 behind Lipa Barakitos (3-0). Marikina dropped to 3-1.

“Teamwork lang, depensa at tiwala sa sarili (It’s all about teamwork, defense and believing in ourselves),” said head coach Gary Riparip, whose son, leadoff batter Gino scored three runs to lead Smokey Mountain’s offensive.

Their bets in Senior League Softball also flourished in Barangay Natatas as they romped off with their fourth consecutive triumph at the expense of Caloocan, 14-0, for a 4-1 card overall.

This put the Smokey Mountain softbelles two wins away from a championship berth in the 13-16 girls softball division.

“Tingin ko may 85 percent to 90 percent chance kami na pumasok sa finals (I think we have a good chance of making the finals),” said coach Manny Llave, whose wards seek the objective against Muntinlupa today and Dasmariñas tomorrow.

Taking the spotlight in Little League Softball was Iloilo, which outdueled ILLAM in extra inning, 5-4, to sweep its way to the semifinals.

Jaimalyn Joy Ambong pounced on a costly passed ball by ILLAM to deliver the winning run as Iloilo extinguished a 1-4 deficit to secure its fifth straight triumph and take the No. 1 spot in today’s semis. Iloilo will face the fourth-ranked team in the knockout Last-4 slated at 8 a.m. in the fields of Barangay Altura, its eyes fixed on the championship game scheduled later at 2 p.m.

Despite the loss, ILLAM finished as the No. 2 semifinalist with 4-1, still in the hunt for crown. Cavite (2-2) appeared to have a lock on third spot while Zambales (1-3) and Quezon City (1-3) were disputing the last berth at presstime.

Also bringing out the broom was Muntinlupa, which finished with a spotless 4-0 in Junior League Softball. Muntinlupa tripped ILLAM, 7-5, to rule Group A and formalize its entry into the crossover semis against the No. 2 team in Group B. The second spot in Group A and the top two in Group B were still being contested as of yesterday afternoon.

World Series Big League Softball titlist Manila South hardly broke a sweat in trampling Naga, 13-0, last Thursday, to pick up their fourth straight win that sent them back to the Phl Series finals with two games to spare. The Manilans are expected to face second-running Pasig (3-1 with still two games left) in the winner-take all finale penciled tomorrow.