The Philippine national men’s baseball team is aiming to make it to the top four again when the Asian Baseball Championship takes place in China from 22 to 29 September.

Following a successful campaign in the East Asia Cup last November at Clark in Pampanga, head coach Vince Sagisi told DAILY TRIBUNE that finishing alongside the region’s top teams is not a remote possibility.

The Philippines won over Hong Kong, 9-2, in the final for its fifth straight title.

“We call them the big four. That’s Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China,” Sagisi said.

“They’re the monsters of baseball here in Asia. We’re trying to crack that group so our goal is to be in the top four.”

“It’s going to be a monumental task for us. So it’s going to require us to beat one of those four teams.”

The Philippines finished fourth in the 2023 edition in Japan.

The Nationals made it as far as the Super Round but failed to make it into the podium after a 0-7 loss to South Korea in the bronze medal match.

Sagisi said they need to beat the Chinese to get back into the Super Round.

From there, anything can happen.

“We’re targeting China as possibly the team that we could compete and possibly beat. I think Japan, Korea, Taiwan, they have so much talent, depth, the depth in talent versus the Philippines,” Sagisi said.

“They (China) got younger in the last several years where they went from an older type of team to now younger teams where the majority of their best players are at the 23 age group, 23 and under age group. So I think if we perform well and play well, that may be the best team for us to try to get a win and eventually get into the top four.”