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| c/o UAAP |
PAREF Southridge School made UAAP history, Monday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
The Admirals became the first-ever guest team to win a UAAP title, claiming the Season 88 High School Baseball Tournament with an 11-1 victory in Game 2 of the Finals against the De La Salle Zobel Junior Green Batters.
It was a dream run for Southridge, which was on the brink of elimination with three games left in the season. The Admirals won all three before ousting National University Nazareth School in a playoff, 6-3.
Southridge head coach Bocc Bernardo emphasized that confidence would be key to winning the championship, and the team used last Saturday’s 15-2 victory in the series opener to fuel their come-from-behind win, though they remained cautiously optimistic.
"The important thing I told them from the last game: there was nothing yet to celebrate. Just to make it short, I told them, the hardest game to win is the close-out game," said Bernardo, a former Southridge standout and catcher for Ateneo de Manila University during its UAAP Season 75 championship run.
"Whatever we did last Saturday will not make us win the game on Monday. It's another game, it's another story to unfold, so we have to play hard. We were able to execute the gameplay that we needed to do."
Down a run after the first three innings, the Admirals found their rhythm in the fourth and never looked back, capturing the first-ever championship by a guest team in the league—and Southridge’s first in any sport.
A three-run rally in the sixth inning extended their lead to 5-3, proving decisive in the final result. Luis Chavez drove in Joaquin Salvador, who earlier hit a double to left field, before scoring himself on an Alessandro Villarosa hit to right field.
All this offensive composure stemmed from the steady performance of starting pitcher and eventual Finals MVP Amiel Belgar.
Belgar, who also pitched a complete game in the series opener, delivered another no-relief effort, allowing just four hits and a solitary run from the Junior Green Batters.
"It's not the switch, but it's about the stability of Amiel on the mound. I think we had three errors that could have helped La Salle—actually, it was Tapia and Veloso who were hitting—of course, kaming mga coaches had the confidence to give it to Amiel. He asked for it, he asked for this game. I was actually weary because I know he's tired, and his teammates were like, 'Coach, we are more confident on defense if Amiel is on the mound.' I heard them, and Amiel was able to prove himself," Bernardo said.
With their ace on point, the Admirals’ batters found their stride, tallying 10 hits in the contest. Chavez led the charge with two hits that produced two RBIs, while Villarosa, also a graduating senior, had three hits and one RBI, scoring Chavez.
Joaquin Salvador and Matt Genota combined for three hits, helping Southridge reach this historic milestone.
The Junior Green Batters initially took the lead with a run in the third inning, capitalizing on a rare walk off Belgar to Carlos Zulueta. A series of errors allowed the run, but it remained the only blemish on Southridge’s otherwise dominant defense.
DLSZ, the league’s most decorated team with four titles, managed only four hits, with Juancho Gatmaitan accounting for two. Laurence Valeros (ERA 4.849), the season’s Best Pitcher, entered in the sixth inning but could not contain the Admirals’ rally.
Southridge also celebrated JC Basañes as Best Hitter (.441 batting average) and Genota for Most RBIs with 11. The Junior Green Batters’ Aljun Tapia earned Most Home Runs with one.
National University Nazareth School finished third, led by John Denrick Plaza, the Season’s Most Valuable Player, while defending champion University of Santo Tomas ended fourth, with Van Joshua Ibabao taking Most Stolen Bases (16).
TEAMS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
DLSZ 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 x 1 4 13
SOUTHRIDGE 0 0 0 1 1 3 1 5 x 11 7 4
