Tigers upset Sharks for first win
by Jonas Terrado
Tigers 5, Sharks 3
A day after suffering a crushing defeat, the Alabang Tigers still found enough focus to avenge their loss.
With rookie infielder Welvin Vispo and catcher Erwin Manuel delivering runs and pitcher Roy Baclay continuing his solid effort, the Tigers upset the Manila Sharks, 5-3, for the team's first victory of the tournament.
Vispo, a current standout of UAAP champion Adamson University, highlighted a three-run fourth frame on a two-run single while Manuel drilled a triple that pulled home two runners in the seventh to pull away with the victory.
On the other hand, Baclay earned his first win in a long while as he allowed two runs off seven hits in six innings of work before Ruel Batuto finished off the Sharks.
It was a solid weekend for the right-handed Baclay, who played for Laguna, Marikina and the Tigers' old name - the Makati Mariners - before resurfacing in the current tournament.
Manila, which rallied from a 7-2 deficit a day earlier for a 9-7 victory over Alabang, suffered its first defeat and fall to third place behind unbeaten teams Batangas and Cebu at 3-1.
The key hit by Vispo was his lone hit in four at-bats to continue his solid start with the squad while Manuel went 2-for-4 in his second game with the team since coming back from a stint in the National PRISAA Games in Naga City.
Manuel was one of the key figures in helping National Capital Region, bannered fellow teammates at University of Santo Tomas, win the said tournament.
National team member Francis Candela brought home JB Castro in the third frame to give Manila a 1-0 lead but they soon trailed by two runs after a three-run fourth by the Tigers.
An RBI double by Romy Bumagat cut the deficit to 3-2 but Manuel made a rare-hit off pitcher Charlie Labrador to score Jerby Diego and Jake Cumlat.
But Batuto, who came in for Baclay in the seventh frame, allowed just one run off two hits to deny the Sharks another come-from-behind victory.
Alabang, one of the country's powerhouse locations, also claimed its first win since renaming the team for the second time. They started as the Makati Mariners and won the league's pilot series in 2007 before renaming it as the Muntinlupa Mariners in Series 4.
They are hoping to gain momentum from this win when they clash with the winless Dumaguete Uni-Bikers on Saturday while the Sharks look to bounce back against the two-time champion Cebu Dolphins.