The crucial UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Baseball matchup between University of Santo Tomas and University of the Philippines was called off due to darkness on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The game remains in the balance, with the Golden Sox leading the Fighting Maroons by a single run, 8–7, at the end of the top of the ninth inning.
Play will resume on a later date.
The tense contest, with major Final Four implications, also featured several heated moments that led to the ejection of both UST head coach Jeff Santiago and senior catcher Prince Harry Geronimo in the eighth inning.
Santiago was sent off following physical contact with plate umpire Ferdie Alvarez, while Geronimo was ejected for intentionally failing to catch an Irvin Llave pitch aimed at Eman Javier.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
From the fourth inning onward, the game saw constant back-and-forth action, with the lead changing hands each half-inning.
The Golden Sox finally took the lead in the eighth, shortly after Santiago’s ejection.
Jesus Cabigao, whose pitch was at the center of Santiago’s protest, tied the game with a double to left field, driving in Charlie Belgar.
Cabigao later scored the go-ahead run on an attempted play involving Llave.
Adamson University currently sits in third place with a 4–5 record, while UP is fourth at 3–5, setting up their Easter Sunday showdown.
UST (2–6) trails behind Ateneo de Manila University (3–6), with the two teams facing each other earlier that same day at 7 a.m.
