Philippines dominates SEA Games baseball, secures third straight gold

The Philippine Men’s National Baseball Team continues to set the gold standard in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines captured its third consecutive gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games baseball tournament by defeating host nation Thailand, 5-3, in the final of the 33rd edition on Friday at Queen Sirikit Stadium.

Legendary pitcher Romeo Jasmin threw 99 pitches — 80 of them strikes — over eight innings before closer Amiel De Guzman took over in the ninth after allowing a leadoff single.

De Guzman then retired the next three batters, striking out Piyathat Saibuakaew on a breaking ball to secure the gold and complete a flawless 7-0 sweep of the tournament.

The Nationals previously won gold in the 2011 edition in Indonesia and the 2019 edition in the Philippines, as baseball continues to be included intermittently in the SEA Games.

Overall, the Philippines has claimed gold in four of the five times baseball featured in the regional sporting event. The only exception was the 2007 edition, where host Thailand took gold in a single round-robin format with no playoffs.

It was a sweet triumph for the team, especially for coach Orlando Binarao’s assistant Joseph Orillana, who, as a player, was part of the 2007 team that lost the gold to Thailand when the Games were held here.

“’Yung pagkatalo namin sa kanila nu’ng 2007 mabigat,” he said. “Kaya sabi ko, ‘wag na ‘wag tayong didikit dito kasi anything can happen.”

The Filipino sluggers wasted no time asserting dominance.

Steven Manaig drove in Jennald Pareja from first base with a double down the left-field line in the bottom of the first, giving the Philippines an early 1-0 lead.

Excellent plate discipline and smart baserunning, combined with Thai errors, allowed the Filipinos to score two more in the third inning on a bases-loaded walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Mark Beronilla extended the lead to four runs in the fourth with an RBI single that brought Erwin Bosito home.

Thailand fought back in the sixth with two runs off hits by Joseph Matthew Daru and Jake Chaisongkram, cutting the deficit to 4-2.

The Philippines responded in the seventh, scoring another run on one of Thailand’s six errors in the game to make it 5-2.

Jasmin, a key figure in all three of the Philippines’ SEA Games victories, allowed just six hits over eight innings while striking out 10 batters.

Manaig led the Nationals offensively with a 3-for-5 performance, while Bosito went 2-for-4.

Linus Oudom took the loss for Thailand, giving up four runs in 3 2/3 innings.

Earlier in the day, Indonesia secured the bronze medal with a thrilling 10-9 walk-off win over Singapore in the 10th inning.