PH tallies 2-0 in U18 Asian Baseball Championship

The Philippines launched its campaign in the 2024 Baseball Federation of Asia or BFA XIII Under-18 Asian Baseball Championship with back-to-back wins at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium in Chinese Taipei on Tuesday, September 3.

The U18 men’s baseball squad got off to a strong start with a 10-0 record win over Sri Lanka on Monday, September 2, then followed it up with a 4-2 victory over Hong Kong to stay unscathed so far in Group B. 

Laurence Valeros banked on his winning pitch to frustrate Sri Lanka as he struck out seven batters and yielded two hits in three and one-third innings. 

Meanwhile, Rinaldo Kyle and Brandom Sanchez notched the necessary runs to take charge and break the 2-2 score in the sixth inning against Hong Kong. Aron Jesse Manguiat then pounded out four in a five-inning, effectively giving the game to the Philippines.

The Filipino batters will battle Japan in its remaining group assignment on Wednesday, September 4, with identical 2-0 win-loss records.

The outcome of the match will decide the Philippines’ opponent in the Super Round slated September 6 and 7 with the medal matches set September 8.