Maitum Little Leaguers rise from obscurity, finish third

CLARK, Philippines – Acquitting themselves quite well in their first foray in international play, the fledgling baseball boys from a small town in Sarangani Province hope to continue making progress.

Sarangani represented the Philippines in the recent 2016 Asia-Pacific Intermediate 50/70 Baseball Tourney and finished third among five countries, capping its campaign with confidence-boosting 13-12 thriller over Hong Kong.

The podium finish was the biggest achievement to date for the ballers from Maitum, a second-class municipality with a population of just over 40,000. 

The Sarangani clouters broke years of frustration in the regionals and their previous stint in the Little League Philippine Series by finally winning the elementary baseball title in the 2016 Palarong Pambansa in Albay – the qualifying event for the AsPac Intermediate League.

“Para kaming lumilipad sa alapaap. First time namin makalaro sa Palaro at mag-champion, first time sa Asia-Pacific (We’re in Cloud 9 now. We finally got to play in the Palaro and won the championship and then we played in the Asia-Pacific) and we got the bronze,” said coach Lord Ken Naval.

“Kahit galing kami sa maliit na bayan (Even if we came from a small town), we beat big cities and provinces in the national then we beat a developed country like Hong Kong in the Asia-Pacific. I’m very proud of the boys, this is a product of their determination and discipline,” he added.

Naval, a Grade 2 adviser at Malalag Central Elementary School back home in Maitum, handles the training of the team along with fellow coaches Jumar Valera and Recard Estacio with help from Palaro’s technical people.

In the buildup to  the AsPac, they got technical advice and logistical support from Little League Philippines’ Jolly Gomez, Mike Zialcita and Chito Gonzalez as well as Manila-based coaches Manny Llave, Randy Dizer, and Jessie Viray. Provincial and municipality officials also threw in their support.

The crew that played in the AsPac will move up to the Junior League Baseball division next year and Naval hopes for continuity.

“Hopefully, mapagpatuloy ang nasimulan ng mga bata pagakyat nila ng juniors and mag-support ang local government (Hopefully the boys can continue what they started as they campaign in the juniors division and local government will support us),” he said.

The Sarangani nine’s stint in the AsPac is expected to trigger more interest from the youth of Sarangani and surrounding areas.

“Bago pa man kami nag-qualify for AsPac dumadami na ang interested na maglaro sa amin, dumadami rin ang potential players (There’s been an increasing interest in baseball and softball even before we qualified for the AsPac, and this could lead to more potential players),” said Naval.