KOBE Torres and University of the Philippines survived against Ateneo de Manila University, escaping with a thrilling 15-12 victory to stay alive in the UAAP Season 86 Baseball Tournament on Thursday evening at their home field in Quezon City.
The Fighting Maroons, last year’s runners-up, ended the eliminations with a 4-6 win-loss record, tying with the University of Santo Tomas Golden Sox for fourth to fifth place.
The tie necessitated a playoff for the last semifinal berth between UP and UST on Saturday at 8 a.m., still at the same Diliman field.
The winner of the match will take on the top-seeded De La Salle University Green Batters.
“Yun na nga, ito na ang laro na kailangan naming manalo para magkaroon ng pagkakataon na makapasok sa semis, at magkaroon ng knockout game laban sa UST. Kasi iyan ang sinabi ko sa kanila, na dapat nating umasa sa unang dalawang laro: matalo sa Adamson, matalo sa UST, at manalo laban sa Ateneo, siguradong mayroong play off sa ika-apat na puwesto,” said UP head coach Anthony Dizer.
“Nagawa naman namin pero muntik pa rin, madami talagang errors, miscues sa kanila, pagkakamali sa judgment, sobrang agresibo, masyadong reckless, hindi na nakokontrol.”
After the Blue Eagles scored four runs in the seventh inning to take a 12-11 lead, the national team pitcher Torres took matters into his own hands, retiring the next three batters to finish the frame.
That turned out to be the game-changer as it boosted both the Fighting Maroons’ offense and defense to pull off the sudden-death win after more than four hours.
Such misplaced aggression almost cost the home side the playoff chance when errors in baserunning failed to add substantial runs to its tally in the fifth and sixth innings, leading to the inspired Ateneo run in the next frame with Juan Dela Rosa’s triple scoring two: Angelo Bernardo and Enzo Montemayor for the marginal cushion.
“Nandito na tayo sa punto na kailangan nating manalo sa bawat laro, kaya umiskor tayo, unahin natin, at kontrolin natin ang laro. Nagawa naman namin pero nalaman nila, nakalamang sila sa amin, eto na naman tayo, bumibigay na naman, nagrerelax, tapos sunod-sunod pa ang mga errors,” he lamented.
“Sabi ko, kung gusto ninyong manalo sa laro na ito, kailangan ninyong kunin, hindi ibibigay sa atin. Ayaw nilang kunin, iyon ang nangyayari sa amin, lahat ng pagkatalo namin, ibinibigay namin, hindi talaga talo, palaging may mga errors. Swerte na lang nakakabawi kami.”
That same intensity, though, fueled the finishing four-run binge for the Fighting Maroons in the eighth inning with substitutes LM Basañes and MJ Adia, helping Torres and captain Ian Mercado manufacture points on a combination of hits and smart baserunning.
Mercado and Torres eventually clinched the win for the team. The skipper took two consecutive fly balls from Montemayor and Dela Rosa, while the closer dealt Zeke Laygo back-to-back strikeouts — his third and seventh dismissals of the game.
VJ Mangahas, last year’s starting first baseman for UP, was back in his old form, leading the offense with three hits on five at-bats. Nano Asuncion added three hits as well in the squad’s 12 total hits.
The Blue Eagles scattered the same number of hits throughout the contest with Javi Limpo and Luis Capati pacing the charge with two hits each, but their bats suddenly went silent in the last ten at-bats going back to that pivotal seventh inning.
Ateneo finished with an even 5-5 win-loss card, securing the third seed in the Final Four.
The Blue Eagles will face the twice-to-beat NU Bulldogs in the semis.
The Lines:
Ateneo 0 0 3 3 0 2 4 0 0 – 12 12 4
UP 4 0 1 3 1 2 0 4 x – 15 12 5
