CLARK, Pampanga – Romeo Jasmin struck out four batters in a six-inning start, Steven Manaig blasted a three-run home run in the eighth, and the Philippines claimed its fifth straight East Asia Baseball Cup crown, routing Hong Kong, 9-2, on Sunday at The Villages Sports Center.
The 35-year-old Jasmin showed his experience in the championship game with a one-run, four-hit start that set the tone for the Philippines before breaking the game wide open late by scoring five runs in the eighth, highlighted by the homer by Manaig.
With that, the Philippines re-asserted its dominance in the East Asia Cup through a five-game sweep amidst huge expectations of winning the crown on home soil and in front of a good-sized Filipino crowd that witnessed the final.
“Honestly, it’s a sense of relief,” said Philippines manager Vince Sagisi. “Anytime you play a tournament of this magnitude in your home country, there is a lot of expectations. So the eventual winning of a championship, it’s almost a relief.”
“I give credit to the players and the assistant coaches. They are the ones that got the job done. I knew we have a good team,” said Sagisi, born in the U.S. to Filipino parents and has credentials that include being a former scout of the Cleveland Guardians (formerly Indians) in the MLB.
After yielding Hong Kong’s first run of the game and in a bases-loaded situation, Jasmin, a former UAAP MVP while playing for Adamson, showed composure during a crucial moment in the top of the fifth when he and the Filipino infielders turned a double play to end the side, protecting the Philippines’ lead, and averting disaster.
That defensive gem proved to be the difference, as the Philippines eventually padded the lead further in the eighth inning when Manaig blasted a three-run home run that turned a close game into a 9-2 advantage.
More wins for Team Philippines
Jasmin later won MVP of the tournament for his performance that included a win in the team’s first game against Indonesia.
Manaig, from the baseball hotbed of Tanauan City, Batangas, later dedicated the win to his late grandfather, who passed away before the tournament started.
Manaig was also part of the All-Star Team in the catcher position, and was joined in the squad by Philippine teammates Clarence Caasalan (relief pitcher, third baseman), Lord Aragon De Vera (shortstop), and John Vargas (outfielder).
Kyle Soberano took the Most Stolen Bases and Most Runs Scored awards, Vargas captured the Most Home Runs trophy, and De Vera was adjudged Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
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