Uni-Bikers storm to third straight win
by Jonas Terrado
Uni-Bikers 13, Taguig 10
Following three losses to start the tournament, it appears that the Dumaguete Uni-Bikers have found the way to play consistent baseball.
Behind veterans Bambol Servo and Saxon Omandac, the Uni-Bikers posted 16 hits in beating the Forward Taguig Patriots in a high-scoring 13-10 victory that pushed their record to an even 3-3 card.
Servo and Omandac combined for seven hits and five runs-batted-in (RBI) as Dumaguete had a strong offensive afternoon that kept the struggling Patriots winless through seven games.
The Uni-Bikers, though, remained in fourth place, trailing the Manila Sharks for third place in the team standings.
Taguig, on the other hand, fell further in the cellar as they dropped its seventh game in as many outings to remain as the only team in the six-team tournament without a victory.
After missing the first two weeks, Servo registered three RBIs off three hits for his best game of the tournament. He erased a 5-4 deficit in the third frame when he delivered a two-run double that pushed home Omandac and Andro Cuyugan for a 6-5 lead in the fourth frame.
Leading 8-5 an inning later, Servo pushed Dumaguete's advantage to four after hitting an RBI single that pushed home Cuyugan.
Meanwhile, Omandac completed his 4-for-6 day with a two-run triple in the seventh to score Joaquin Jover and Christian de Leon that made it an 11-5 lead. He earlier produced the Uni-Bikers first run of the game when he scored from third off a fielding error in the first inning.
Catcher Edmer del Socorro highlighted a three-run second frame on a two-run single that made it a 4-0 lead for Dumaguete.
But the Patriots charged back with a five-run binge in the bottom half of the said inning as Rex Bangayan and Ferdinand Recto hit a pair of two-run singles for a 5-4 lead. However, they struggled in the middle portion of the contest against the pitching of southpaw Darwin dela Calzada.
Dela Calzada, last year's Most Valuable Player, held Taguig to just two hits in six innings of work.
When he left, the Patriots made a mini threat by scoring five runs, including a two-run single by Recto but fall three runs shy of completing the comeback.
Recto starred for Forward Taguig with four RBIs off two hits while Bangayan added three RBIs in the loss.