THREE Golden Sox players, along with other members of the national baseball team, notched the championship in the 2015 East Asian Cup held in Jakarta, Indonesia last May 3 to 8.
The Philippines swept the Baseball Federation of Asia-organized tournament which also gathered teams from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.
Among the handpicked roster are Golden Sox outgoing team captain Arvin Plaza and UST pitchers Lesmar Ventura and Kirk Daquis.
Despite playing limited minutes, the trio stuck to their mantra of “Pusong Tomasino ang umiiral sa amin, pusong palaban,” as they lived out their dream of playing for the country.
“Hindi biro maging national team. Kumbaga sa karamihanng manlalaro ng baseball, isa sa mga pangarap namin ay maging part ng national team. Hindi ko ‘to makakalimutan dahil hindi ko lang dala ang pagiging Tigre, pati Pilipinas dala ko na din,” Plaza said.
Competing against regional baseball powerhouse Sri Lanka, Ventura said the team’s maturity and exposure to neck-and-neck matches helped them handle the pre-game jitters and the pressure of a regional meet.
The Cavite-born pitcher said playing for UST prepared him in all aspects as he stepped out of his comfort zone during his stint with the national team.
“I think my good performance with UST in UAAP, ‘yung‘pag level up sa game and commitment are the reasons why I’ve been selected [to be a part of the national team]. It (UAAP) really helped me out kasi unti-unting na-develop at nahubog yung skills ko physically at mentally,” Ventura said.
Plaza said being the leader of the Golden Sox taught him how to calm his teammates amid the intensity of the game.
“Bilang captain ng Golden Sox, kinakausap ko ang teammates ko na ‘relax lang tayo at enjoy every game kasi swerte tayo at nabigyan tayo ng opportunity namaglaro dito,” Plaza said.
The trio agreed that the team’s first match against Hong Kong was both noteworthy and intense after the victory almost slipped away.
“Humabol lang kami sa bottom of the eighth inning.Lamang sila (Hong Kong), 3-2. Buti na lang umiskor kami ng two runs at nanalo kami, 4-3,” Plaza recalled.
For the triad, winning the East Asian Cup was one of their greatest accomplishments as athletes playing outside the UAAP. Angelica P. Abello
