Behind stellar pitching from the country’s bullpen, the Philippines toppled 20th-ranked China, 1-0, to remain unscathed in Group A of the 2019 BFA Asian Championship, Tuesday at Takchung Stadium in Taiwan.
Romeo Jasmin pitched six scoreless innings before Miguel Salud took charge in the last three innings for the save.
The masterful performances of Ponce and Salud were badly needed by the Nationals as runs were hard to drop by.
Diego Lozano though was able to punch in the games sole run in the third inning coming off a hit by Jonash Ponce.
The win propelled the Philippines to a 2-0 mark while dropping China to 1-1.
The Philippines thrashed Pakistan in their opener last Monday, 11-0.
The Pinoy batters will next face South Korea on Thursday at 12:00 pm. The Koreans are 1-1 in the continental meet.
The top two teams in the two groups will advance to the Super Round.
Back in 2017, the Philippines could not make it out of the group stages, only eking out a 1-2 slate — including a 3-18 loss to South Korea.
