Barakos rip Indons, claim Vietnam title
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Tot Baseball's Barakos got back at the Indonesians and fashioned out a 7-3 victory in the finals to capture the Vietnam Baseball Classic of the PONY Asian Series in Hanoi, Vietnam last Sunday.
The Barakos seized control early with three runs only to watch their rivals tie them in the fourth inning behind a three-run homerun belted by the tallest Indonesian player. But the Filipino clouters shrugged off the threat and buckled down to work to produce four more runs en route to victory.
Lefty Jonas Palad, the smallest member of the team, stood tallest on the mound as he closed out the game in dominating fashion. He went on to bag the Golden Glove Award for his great defense against the bigger, taller Indonesian batters.
It was a sweet victory for the Barakos, who dropped a 3-7 decision to the Indonesians in the eliminations, according to delegation head and Tanauan City sports head Totie Leus.
The Barakos then swept Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea to reach the finals against their elims tormentor.
The gutsy nine-player Tanauan team's stint was backed by City Mayor Sonia Torres Aquino. Backing up Palad were last year's MVP Atong Natanauan, who finished second in the Homerun Derby with six homers while Ian Mercado finished with five homeruns for third.
Starting pitcher Marty Rañada also twirled a solid game to earn the most promising pitcher of the Pony Asian Season award.