De Castro gets BFA execom seat

Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) vice president Manny de Castro is looking to strengthen the country’s ties with the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) after earning a seat on its executive committee.

De Castro was elected member-at-large during the BFA Elective Congress at the Regent Hotel Taipei in Chinese Taipei on Thursday, with representatives from 20 countries taking part.

He told DAILY TRIBUNE that the Philippines received the highest number of votes, alongside Hong Kong’s Cho Ki Ming Stanley, in the election for five members-at-large.

Rounding out the group are Houman Mansourian of Iran, Nayef Bin Humaid of Saudi Arabia and Douangchote Suwanjalask of Thailand.

“It’s a good acceptance of the Philippines because we received the highest number of votes. Together with Hong Kong, we were ranked number one,” De Castro said in a phone conversation.

De Castro replaced PABA president Boy Tingzon in the executive committee, while BFA president Jeffrey Koo Jr. was reelected for another four-year term.

De Castro said his election would bring PABA and Philippine baseball closer to the regional governing body and open more opportunities for the country to host competitions and training activities.

“We’re bringing PABA and the Philippines closer to the BFA as an active member of the organization,” he said.

“At the same time, we’ll bring the BFA closer to our country by trying to host more tournaments and hold more training programs for umpires, coaches and scorers.”

He added that the partnership would support baseball development not only in the Philippines but also across Asia.

De Castro also said the executive committee seat would give the Philippines a more active voice in BFA decisions, with the group meeting at least twice a year.

The BFA Congress, meanwhile, is held every two years, making regular coordination more difficult for members outside the executive committee.