The Philippine national baseball team tripped Thailand, 9-5, to secure a championship ticket Friday in the BFA East Asia Cup XIV at the Clark International Sports Complex in Pampanga.
With the Nationals now having a 2-0 win-loss record, it will go up against Hong Kong for all the marbles on Sunday.
The Philippines’ 13-1 victory over Indonesia last Tuesday was not counted after the latter was eliminated early in the tournament.
Down 0-4 and already accumulated two outs in the third inning, the Philippines scored three runs thanks to Lord de Vera, Kyle Soberano and Clarence Caasalan.
A home run by Mark Manaig and a 2 run-batted-in single from De Vera to send Adriane Bernardo and Ian Mercado back to home plate made it 6-4 for the Philippines in the fourth inning.
Mercado struck out three batters in three innings while Raymond Nerosa only allowed a hit in his one-inning appearance.
Paulo Macasaet finished the match in style and struck out all batters in the ninth inning.
Before the Philippines and Hong Kong compete in the championship match, they will face each other on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to cap the Super Round.
The Hong Kongers, who settled for a silver medal last year in Thailand, will be entering the game oozing with confidence after a dominant 14-4 win over Singapore in the Super Round.
The Philippines is gunning for its fifth consecutive title and its seventh championship overall in the tournament.