Man Amigos come back to win 2023 BASA title

The Man Amigos is the 2023 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association League champion after they defeating Peleliu in Game 3 of the finals last Sunday at the DanDan Softball Field.(LEIGH GASES)

Undeterred from dropping the second championship game, 14-19, Man Amigos came back in the winner-take-all tie-breaking third game in a 36-8 blowout victory against their old foes, Peleliu, of the 2023 Budweiser Belau Amateur Softball Association League last Sunday at the DanDan Softball Field.

Man Amigos won the first game, 29-11, after Peleliu defeated Hagu La’mun earlier in the day to advance to the championship round.

In Game 2, Peleliu came back after just playing two back-to-back games and regrouped. They put up 12 runs early in the game as Man Amigos was silenced to just one run in the first inning.

The seven-run second inning for Peleliu was thanks to homeruns by Mark Flores and Elmer Sablan, along with a double by John Taitano and consecutive singles through the line up. 

Peleliu’s pitching managed to shut down Man Amigos again after Man Amigos scored six runs in the third inning and held them off to just seven more runs in the last innings. Man Amigos’ offense just wasn’t there as they were not able to bring in their runners in scoring position.

In the third game, it was like Man Amigos awakened from their slumber as they didn’t give Peleliu’s pitching and defense a chance to breathe when they scored 18 runs.

It was the opposite for Peleliu this time around as their bats went radio silent and went scoreless for three innings. By this time, the lead for Man Amigos kept growing as multiple home runs in succession made it seem like it was a home run derby instead of a championship softball game.

When the dust settled, 36 runs were on the board thanks to the combined efforts of three home runs by Manny Sablan, two home runs each from Joey Dela Cruz and Pete Sablan and one made by Bill Camacho. 

It was a rematch two years in the making as Peleliu was the 2021 BASA champion after they beat Man Amigos in the second and third game.

After their win, “It’s been a long time coming,” said Man Amigos coach and player Derron Flores.

Man Amigos strung Peleliu for a wild ride in the third game as they found their swings and kept the runs coming and finally got the win against Peleliu. “We can’t ask for more than that. Everybody put their hearts to it. The better team came out victorious today.”

He added “We appreciate this league, Marpac and all the sponsors and organizers and all the teams as well as the players’ wives and better halves out there. We will try and come back strong next year!”