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Air Defense: Pera Padala Routs Alabang For National Honors

In a bittersweet reminder of Titans League banners over a four-year span, the Pera Padala Air Force remained in orbit for the second year in a row after boiling over the Alabang Athletics 20-4 last weekend behind a 23-hit barrage.

It was reminiscent of how each title game of the league's four-year existence has epitomized the current state of competitive disparity in Philippine baseball.

Perhaps the thrill this time around came from three unlikely sources. Junnifer Pinero, the All-Filipino catcher who had only driven in three runs while scoring twice the entire season, copped the lion's share of the Air Force assault by going 3-for-6 with four rbi's and four runs scored. The other catalysts were Reuben Angeles, who merely set a national record by collecting six hits in seven trips to the plate, and Rizel Santos who went 3-for-6 and drove in three runs.

Air Force starter Ernesto Binarao, the left-handed ace of the Philippine National Team, continued to stymie the Athletics in dealing his second complete game of the season despite surrendering 11 hits. His control has been impeccable all season. In 26 innings pitched, Binarao has not issued a single walk while striking out 29 batters. He also helped his cause at the dish by going 2-for-5 and driving in two runs.

The Athletics meanwhile couldn't ground the Air Force after drawing even in the second inning.

Pera Padala put the game away in the fourth inning. After Binarao had reached on an error, Reuben Angeles laced an rbi double to center for the first run of the inning. Sofronio De Juras' single place runners at the corners. Virgilio Roxas followed with an rbi single. Pinero knocked in two more with a double to right field. Romeo Bumagat's rbi double to center and Santos' sac fly made it 10-1. That chased Athletics starter Kelly Culubong.

Lito Pulgo came in relief and was lit up similarly as the airmen put up three more in the fifth and another six-spot in the sixth on their way to an easy victory.

STARS 9, BLUE EAGLES 1
Marikina's Glenn Tuazon continued to open some eyes by hurling his league-high fifth complete game of the season, giving up just one run on five hits as the youthful Marikina-Calumpang Stars captured the TLB.06 Republic Division Championship with a 9-1 drubbing of the enigmatic Loyola Heights-Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Tuazon walked four and struck out nine with the only run off him crossing home on Chad Garcia's rbi groundout in the second.

Jovito Estanislao collected two hits and drove home a pair to pace a balanced Stars attack.