THE Philippines qualified for the 2025 Asian Baseball Championship after reaching the finals of the 14th East Asia Cup.
The Pinoy batters overhauled a four-run deficit to defeat Thailand, 9-5, in their super round encounter on Friday at The Villages in Clark, Pampanga to book a place in the final against Hong Kong.
PH batters bound for Asian championships
By virtue of playing in the championship showdown, the Philippines and Hong Kong have taken spots in the Asian Championship.
But the Filipinos had to earn their way for those berths.
Mark Manaig blasted a game-tying home run to spark the decisive three-run fourth inning. John Vargas also drilled a four-bagger to provide the Philippines enough cushion against its perennial rival in Southeast Asia.
The Pinoy relievers made sure to preserve the lead in the late innings with Mar Joseph Carolino, Raymond Nerosa, and Juan Paulo Macasaet taking turns on the mound for the Vince Sagisi-managed team.
The Philippines will still play Hong Kong on Saturday afternoon to conclude the super round in a virtual preview of the championship game.
Hong Kong defeated Singapore in an abbreviated seven-inning match, 14-4, earlier in the day to stay undefeated.
The Philippines and Hong Kong have actually won their third game in as many outings, and are currently on top of the super round on 2-0 records, the results of their games against teams that have been ousted from contention already stricken off.
The Philippines took the lead for good on a two-run single by Lord De Vera, pushing Adriane Bernardo and Ian Mercado home.
Vargas made it a 7-4 lead on a solo home run to left field in the fifth inning, before the Philippine pitchers took over.
Mercado struck out three batters in three innings of relief, Nerosa yielded just a hit in his one-inning outing, and Macasaet closed the match by striking out all three batters that he faced in the ninth.
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