Baseball Philippines to hold out-of-town games in Series 8

Baseball Philippines will hold a series of out-of-town games, a league first, for the Series 8 which starts on April 16 at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. Organizing Community Sports Inc. (CSI) executive director Nolan Bernardino said provincial games will be held in Subic, Batangas (Lipa City and Libjo) and Laguna (Banlic in Cabuyao). If plans push through, a game is also likely to take place in Cebu, according to Bernardino. “This will be the first time we will play out-of-town games in baseball hotbeds in Luzon. Hopefully, we can also play in the Visayas," said Bernardino in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum. The Manila Sharks, seeking their third straight title, open Series 8 on April 16 against the Taguig Patriots at 1 p.m. right after the opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. The league goes to Libjo, Batangas the following day as Series 7 runner-up and home team Batangas Bulls go up against the Alabang Tigers, with two games also slated simultaneously during the day at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. Games in Lipa will be either on April 30 or May 1 as Batangas takes on Alabang and Cebu battles Manila. Subic and Banlic, respectively, will host the May 8 and 15 games of the returning Dumaguete Uni-bikers against the Taguig Patriots. The league will play a double-round-robin format, a move which Bernardino said is aimed at helping the members of the national team preparing for the Southeast Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia in November this year. “We hope that we could compete well in the SEA Games, that is why we have a longer tournament," said Bernardino, who joined some of the players from each team during the forum. The consensus among the players is that Manila remains as the team to beat. “We hope that we can get the championship away from the Manila Sharks," said Cebu assistant playing manager Jon De Ubago. But the Sharks are poised to score a three-peat. “Although we have lost some players, the core is still intact. We are upbeat on our chances. We can go for three in a row," said Eric Cadavillo, team official of the Manila Sharks, who was joined by Series 7 Finals Most Valuable Player pitcher Jon Jon Robles. - KY, RCJ, Reuben Terrado, GMA News