RP sluggers to test mettle vs Taiwanese, Koreans

MANILA, Philippines – The quality of the Philippines’ national baseball team will be put to a test as they play visiting teams from Chinese Taipei and Korea this week. Yen High School baseball team from Chinese Taipei and the G.E. & H. Academy of Korea will alternately play the national sluggers from February 27 to March 3 in two separate venues. The Yen High is a many-time national champion in Taipei and boasts of players who are being eyed by the Chinese Taipei professional teams. The delegation enplanes on Thursday and will play the nationals on February 27, March 2 and March 3 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field. They will also test the mettle of Baseball Philippines team Dumaguete Unibikerson on February 28. For its part, the G.E & H. Academy headed by general manager In Bong Chon will arrive on Friday and will hold exhibition matches with the nationals from February 28 and March 1 at the baseball field in Carmona, Cavite. Later, club teams from Shi Heung City Kyunggi-Do Province in Korea will arrive in time for March 6 and 7 exhibition games to highlight the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relationship between Philippines and Korea. Chinese Taipei and Korea are the second and third countries to visit the Philippines and conduct goodwill games after Japan, which sent a 20-under team for a two-game series with the RP clouters last month. "We welcome the opportunity to play foreign teams since it will help us gauge the level of play of the national team while also providing opportunity for local baseball fans to witness the competition," said Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) president Hector Navasero. Baseball is not part of the 25th Laos SEA Games set in December but the nationals are preparing for the Asia Cup which Philippines plans to host late June. -GMANews.TV