Bulls bulldoze Dolphins, enter Baseball Phils finals

MANILA, Philippines – Absorbing their first loss brought the best out of Batangas as the Bulls dismantled and dethroned previous champion Cebu Dolphins, 8-1, to march into Baseball Philippines Series V finals Sunday at the Rizal ballpark. Pitcher Romeo Jasmin, the reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player and considered the best player in the league following the indefinite suspension of members of the national team, powered the Bulls to the victory in this semifinals rubbermatch. Jasmin pitched for eight innings and limited the Dolphins to just four hits and one run. He blanked his rivals for the first sixth innings and only allowed them to score their solitary run in the eighth when the game is already in the bag for Batangas. The right handed pitcher also flaunted his batting skills as the Bulls cleanup batter, going three-for-four and driving in two runs, including one that came right in the first inning. “Pinaghandaan ko talaga ito. Ngayong nawala ang mga national players, kailangan kong mag-step up at sinuwerte naman ako sa larong ito," said Jasmin, who helped Adamson win back-to-back titles in the UAAP. Jojo Apura, the third man in the Bulls’ batting order, doubled thrice in five times bat and also drove in two runs while the ninth and last batter, catcher Jose Jose, also had two RBIs to highlight the team’s 15 hits against three Dolphins pitchers. Batangas has been the most dominant team of the series, sweeping its 10 games in the classification phase for the win-once incentives in the semis. Cebu, however, forged a sudden death with a 6-1 win last Saturday but eventually, the Bulls would not be denied of their appointed place in the finals against the Manila Sharks. “The team was affected by the long break and although they were there, they played different last Saturday. But today (Sunday), the team work is back and the confidence and Jasmin played very well in pitching and hitting," beamed Batangas team manager Randy Dizer. Sebastian Uichico, who limited the Bulls to just three hits in their last meeting, starred anew for Cebu but got tagged with four hits and three runs in just 1 1/3 inning. Apura took the first hit of the game and stole second before he scooted home from third off a sacrifice hit by Jasmin. Jose then batted a two-run double in the third inning, forcing Cebu team manager Isaac Bacarisas to remove Uichico with Jerome Bacarisas. But Bacarisas was also out of form, allowing three successive hits to Landicho, Carlo Banzon and Apura with the latter scoring his two teammates as the Bulls took a 5-0 lead after five innings. Ardio was tapped to take the mound next, and Jose greeted him with a double to deep left and then scored off a Landicho single while Apura had another double and delivered a 7-0 lead after seven innings off a squeeze play by Erickson Equia. Miguel Corcuera took the first hit off Jasmin in the bottom seventh but in was in the next frame when the Dolphins scored a run as Jordan Orobia singled, advanced to second and third off a fielder’s choice and delivered a run on Ardio’s single. Jasmin, however, got the run back in the top of the ninth inning with a grounder to short, scoring Apura who again doubled before Vladimir Eguia took the mound in the bottom ninth and retired Jonnard Pareja, Mico Uichico and Richard Leonor in one-two-three fashion. Game one of the Bulls’ best-of-three finals showdown with the Sharks is set on June 28 with Dizer missing the game since he will join the ILLAM team in the Asia Pacific Little League tournament in Jakarta, Indonesia. Still, Dizer is confident he is coaches will take care of the team, which is gunning for its second title after topping Series III. “Manila is a tough opponent and the series will be decided on who wants it more. I believe we have the advantage in pitching but you can’t really tell. We have to show our heart to win this crown," Dizer said. – GMANews.TV