After finishing the elimination rounds of the UAAP Season 81 Baseball Tournament at the top of the standings, the DLSU Green Batters booked their second straight trip to the finals. With the highly anticipated finals series against the ADMU Blue Eagles less than a day away, The LaSallian caught up with sophomore catcher Anton Rosas, who has made a huge impact for the team this season.
In his first Green Journal, Rosas talks about his role in the team, their mindset heading into the finals, and what they have to do to win against Ateneo.
On playing a bigger role this season
Coming into this season, I knew that I had huge shoes to fill once Paul [Naguit] graduated. I knew that I had to be a more vocal leader on the field, which was a bit difficult for me to do last season since it was my freshman season. Now that I have spent more time with my teammates, I’m more comfortable and more vocal with them, and its evident when I’m on the field.
Knowing that I would be getting more playing time compared to last year, I knew that I had to improve my defense. Together with the other catchers Joaqs [Bilbao] and Bill [Evangelista], we really worked hard on our overall catching. Besides blocking, throwing, and receiving, we knew that we had to be more agile when it came to playing the game.
Scouting the competition
It honestly makes the game a lot easier for us. Being able to go into a game knowing exactly what the tendencies of the opposition are, and how to attack their hitters is important information that our team could build our game plan around. As a catcher, this also gives me the edge on how I call pitches because I have an idea of how they will be approaching each of their at-bats.
On the team’s mindset
To be able to be on the field with such a hardworking and talented group of players has really motivated me to work even harder. Also, the fact that we are a close knit team has us wanting to be the best that we can be, not only for ourselves, but for the other 19 players on the team. We’ve been playing to the best of our abilities and that is because we are aware of our specific roles in the team. It’s just such a great feeling to be part of a team with high standards because it instills a mindset amongst us that we really are the best team in this league and that we will give 100% from first pitch, ‘til the final out.
Favorite moment of the season
The second round game versus Ateneo. Coming into that game, we knew that a win would book us a return trip to the finals, and we did just that. Our bats were red hot, Luis [Miñana] pitched one hell of a game, and our defense staying sharp all throughout were the keys to our lopsided win. Also, the fact that this was a rivalry game gave us that much needed boost to end the game in just seven innings. We wanted to prove, not only to all the teams in the league, but to ourselves as well, that once everything goes right for us, we are unbeatable.
Keys to beating Ateneo in the finals
Defense, pitching, and having a lot of fun. Our defense has to be close to perfect if we want to beat a lethal team such as Ateneo. Those guys are an offensive juggernaut who are also well disciplined with their approach at the plate. We could neutralize that with great pitching. The finals is a best of 3 series and is approached a bit differently compared to the games in the elimination round. We have to make sure that our intensity does not die down, for it could possibly cost us the series. Lastly, we have to keep in mind that we play at our best when we are having fun. Just the noise coming from the dugout could have a massive effect when it comes to giving energy to the guys on the field.
Two huge victories against the defending champions Adamson and mercy rule wins against the two teams who beat us, UST and Ateneo, now have us confident entering the finals.
The Green Batters are vying to draw first blood in the finals series against the Blue Eagles on Friday, March 29, at 12 pm at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Diamond. Game 2 will be on Tuesday, April 2. If necessary, Game 3 is scheduled on April 5, both at the same time and venue.
