Baseball Philippines: Manila, Cebu hold lead

Streaking Manila and Cebu kept their hold of the lead in the Baseball Philippines Series 8 Sunday following similar easy wins at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. Marvin Malig blasted a two-run home run in the seventh inning as the two-time defending champion Sharks blanked the Dumaguete Unibikers, 11-0, after eight innings. Miggy Corcuera and Tino Ubungen hit back-to-back homers in the third inning to highlight the Dolphins’ 13-5 victory over the Taguig Patriots in the second game. Both Manila and Cebu tote a 7-1 win-loss card to continue share the lead and bolster their chances for the twice-to-beat incentive in the semifinals. Malig’s four-bagger gave the Sharks an 8-0 lead off Dumaguete reliever Amber Plaza after Robles doubled to score home Christian Galedo for a three-run binge at the top of the seventh. “Nag-iimprove na kami sa depensa at sa opensa after we struggled in the first few games," said Manila coach Jhoel Palanog. Manila scored first on RBI singles by Nino Tator and Robles followed by another RBI by Rommel Roja. Ferdinand Badrina doubled in the third inning to score Robles, then amassed a run after an Allen Dizon single. Corcuera’s three-run blast advanced Jonash Ponce and Ram Alipio on a 1-1 pitch by Taguig starter Eric Francisco to left field and was followed by another homer by Ubungen to the left field seats for a 5-1 game after the top half of the third. - Reuben Terrado/RCJ/OMG, GMA News