PHILIPPINE baseball will be busy in 2026 highlighted by the men’s team’s participation in the Asian Games and East Asia Cup, and the women’s maiden appearance in the Women’s World Cup.
The Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) said it is also scheduled to compete in Asian Championships for U12 and U18, aside from the three major international tournaments this year, and the return of the sport as part of the Batang Pinoy program.
“All in all, very busy year po ito. Bottom line is that PABA has been proactive in both local and international scene. And hopefully, we would be able to provide a structured pathway para mabigyan ng opportunity ang ating mga players,” said PABA secretary general Mike Asuncion during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
“Aside from the activities, meron din kaming efforts to strengthen our institutional partnerships with the Palarong Pambansa, with PRISAA, we recently had a memorandum of agreement para dumami rin ang maglaro ng baseball, and ang pagbabalik ng Batang Pinoy,” said PABA vice president Manny De Castro.
The men’s team will look to follow-up on its conquest of the Southeast Asian Games last December in Thailand as they aim for a podium finish in the Asian Games set September 19 to October 4 in Nagoya, where they will be up against powerhouse teams led by host Japan, Korea, and Chinese Taipei.
The Philippines is the defending champion in the East Asia Cup that it will host for the second consecutive time after holding the event last year in Clark.
“Mostly, ang team namin ay galing sa UAAP. Pagkatapos ng UAAP, nagpa-tryout tayo. May konting pagbabago sa team pero may mga veterans. ‘Yung mga galing sa SEA Games, marami pa rin,” said men’s team coach Orlando Binarao.
The Philippines will be playing in the preliminaries of the Women’s Baseball World Cup from August 22 to 27 in Tainan, Taiwan where they are grouped with Japan, Venezuela, Cuba, Great Britain, and host Chinese Taipei with the top three teams advancing to the finals to be played in 2027 in Rockford, Illinois.
“Ongoing ang training namin. Yung mga dating softball players, na-convert na sila into baseball,” said women’s team head coach Isaac Bacarisas.
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