In a country where hoops and baskets dominate the sporting scene, ballparks are few and far in between. Many forget that the Philippines was once an Asian powerhouse in baseball, claiming the gold medal in the first ever BFA Asian Baseball Championship in 1954, as a crowd of about 17,000 sat in the bleachers of the historic Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. However, the fall from grace since then has been long and difficult.
Fields are scarce and the equipment is expensive, but despite these hurdles, there are still those with extraordinary passion to play the game. Although they may be few, the country’s baseball community is looking to rekindle the sport’s glory days.
The Philippine national baseball team’s recent fifth place finish does not fully capture the story of the national team’s stellar showing in the 2019 edition of the BFA Asian Baseball Championship, held last October 14 to 20 in Taichung, Taiwan. As the three Green Batters on the national roster, team captain Ignacio Escaño, Arvin Herrera, and Diego Lozano discuss their experiences on the international stage and the lessons they have learned along the way.
Hitting it out of the park
Heading into the tournament, the Philippine team was seen as the underdogs. But driven by passion and tenacity, they blew all expectations out of the water. Escaño explains it best, “A lot of [the people we were going against] are professionals; when you play against a level of baseball that high, it inspires you to play better.”
The Philippines had their work cut out for them right from the onset, as they were placed into the preliminary group with top-ranked China and South Korea. Only the top two teams from each group could advance to the next round, which meant that the Philippines was going to have to climb the mountain and take down Asia’s juggernauts.
The match against China was unanimously the highlight of the tournament for all three Lasallians. Facing off against the powerhouse was a daunting task, but the nation’s batters made history that day. The Filipinos pulled off a nail-biting victory over the Chinese, 1-0, to claim a major upset over their opponents for the first time in decades.
Herrera illustrates the gravity of the win saying, “Nung nasa Taiwan pa kami parang nung nanalo kami against sa China, ‘yung pagbalik namin sa hotel, ‘yung mga Chinese people, mga Taiwanese na-recognize kami. Kami ‘yung Team Philippines [who had beaten China] parang nagba-bow down sila sa amin, parang kino-congratulate nila kami.”
(While we were still in Taiwan, when we arrived at the hotel, the Chinese and Taiwanese people recognized us. We were Team Philippines [who had beaten China]. They bowed and congratulated us.)
Unfortunately, the win over China was not enough; the Philippines finished third in the group after China forced a three-way tie with a win over South Korea. The Filipinos, Chinese, and Koreans all ended up with two wins and a defeat, but an inferior run differential after a tough loss to South Korea, 12-2, meant that the team from the Philippines could not book a spot in the super rounds.
The Philippines ended the tournament in fifth after they cruised past Hong Kong and Sri Lanka in the consolation rounds.
On top of the team’s accomplishments, Lozano was a star on the international stage—he was named the Best First Baseman in Asia on the back of exceptional performances, including scoring a homer against top-seeded South Korea.
Leading the defense
As they enter their fifth year as Green Batters, these three players are no strangers to the pressures that come with being the faces of DLSU baseball. However, representing an entire country placed them in a completely different ball game—one that enabled their quality of play to evolve exponentially.
The grueling training process forced the Lasallian trio to develop both on and off the field, as they had to balance being at the ballpark everyday with their academic work. “[We] have no time [to] rest. I came up with a set schedule, and that helped me a lot. I started getting better grades and started performing better [on the field],” shares Lozano.
The final product was a matured core for the Green Batters, looking primed and ready to lead their school to another championship. The three Lasallians have another tough challenge awaiting them back home: defending their UAAP crown.
In preparation for the UAAP Baseball Tournament, the Green Batters have already been training the past few months aiming to grow into a cohesive unit after losing 10 players from their squad last season. Learning from the best coaches in the country and playing with a higher level of competition during their stint with the national team, Lozano, Herrera, and Escaño have brought the Green-and-White a new ace up their sleeves this season.
Lozano notes, “The programs we actually do here [with the national team], we bring to La Salle, and so far [the team has] been improving. Our programs have been working; all the things [that] we’ve been teaching them, all the things that our coaches have been teaching them, have been very useful.”
Escaño believes that, together with Lozano and Herrera, their international experience will help propel the Green Batters in their title defense this season. “Though our teammates didn’t experience [being part of the national team], they can experience [it] through our work ethic. It’s infectious if your leaders are the ones that are really pushing you,” he discusses.
Covering bases on Filipino soil
To this day, the question of whether the Philippines can dominate baseball on an international level still persists. Nevertheless, the players continue to shatter the doubts that stand in their way. The men who wear the Philippine jerseys are proof that the nation indeed has the talent and the dedication needed to pave a brighter future for baseball on local soil.
Coming home from the BFA Asian Championships in Taiwan—where baseball is the “number one sport”, as Escaño describes, with world-class facilities and all-out support from the countrymen—also put things into perspective for these three young players as to how Filipino baseball can swing for growth.
With the success that the national team continues to see, the sport may be headed for an upward hike, and these three Lasallians recognize that they are key agents in its increasing prosperity. “Once [the] sport grows, they’ll look back at the times it was still small, and how these college students [mixed with some older] guys were able to help develop this sport,” Lozano proudly shares.
However, development cannot be achieved from the athletes’ efforts alone, as the three Green Batters further assert that there should be a stronger presence of patronage from all angles. With the country already seeing major successes despite the shorthanded provisions, by plugging in a bigger following from the Filipino people, there would be no telling how far Filipinos could go with baseball. “I believe if [greater support lies in] the future of baseball in our country, there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be successful at it,” Escaño affirms.
