THE MANILA Sharks forced a rubbermatch for a slot in the finals as they leaned on the stellar pitching of Tawi delos Reyes and their four-run binge in the fourth inning to down the Dumaguete Uni-Bikers, 6-1, in the semifinals of the Baseball Philippines Series 9 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium yesterday.
Delos Reyes led the way for the Sharks, yielding just a run in three and one-third innings of play before Gian Llaguno, Kelly Culubong and Emerson Atilano took charge in offense with run-scoring hits in the fourth to break the game wide-open.
The third-seeded Sharks thus foiled the twice-to-beat Uni-bikers’ bid to advance to the finals outright, forcing another game next Sunday and keeping their bid for a fourth straight championship.
Edward Landicho and Fernando Badrina walked and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Francis Gesmundo. Llaguno and Culubong pushed home Landicho and Badrina with a single before Mark Ong stole third and home to score. Atilano followed suit with a base hit to right field to score Culubong and give Manila a 4-0 lead.
Dumaguete scored on a double by Mike Gante but Jayson Dimacutac took over from Delos Reyes, yielding seven hits but keeping the Uni-bikers scoreless. The Sharks then scored a run each in the fifth and seventh to complete the rout. /Corresopondent Jonas Panerio