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SPORTS BANTER | Pepe Muñoz, Secretary General ng Philippine Amateur Baseball Association.  For more news, visit:  ►https://www.ptvnews.ph/  Subscribe to our DailyMotion Channel: ►http://www.dailymotion.com/peoples-television-incorporated  Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ►http://www.youtube.com/ptvphilippines  Like our Facebook pages: ►PTV: http://facebook.com/PTVph  ►Rise and Shine Pilipinas: https://www.facebook.com/riseandshinepilipinas  Follow us on Twitter:  ►http://twitter.com/PTVph  Follow us on Instagram: ►https://www.instagram.com/ptvph  Watch our livestream on:  ►http://ptvnews.ph/livestream/ ►https://www.dailymotion.com/PTVPhilippines  Watch our News Programs, every Mondays to Fridays  Rise and Shine Pilipinas - 6:00 - 7:00 am | 7:30 - 8:00 am Balitang Pambansa - 7:00 - 7:30 am | 12:00 - 12:30 pm | 6:00 - 6:30pm | 9:30 - 10:00 pm PTV Sports - 8:00 - 9:00 am Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon - 12:30 - 1:00 pm Sentro Balita - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Ulat Bayan - 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm PTV News Tonight -  10:00 pm - 10:30 pm  Saturday & Sunday: ►Sentro Balita Weekend - 1:30 - 2:00 pm ►Ulat Bayan Weekend - 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm

Transcript

00:00We will now hear from Sir Pepe of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, the Secretary General.

00:06Hi Sir Pepe! Good afternoon Sir Pepe!

00:08Hello! Yes, hello! Good afternoon! How's everything? How are you?

00:14We're good!

00:15We're good, Sir Pepe! How are you, Sir?

00:18I'm okay! I'm good!

00:20Alright!

00:21Sir, in the latest PABA post on the Facebook page, we have the PABA National Youth Baseball Under-15 Tryouts.

00:31Can you tell us more about it, Sir Pepe?

00:35Yeah, well, the background is we're preparing already for the tournaments that we will play in 2025.

00:43But, you know, this involves several tournaments, not just the Under-15.

00:49We have the men's team will play in the Asian Baseball Championship in September.

00:53The women's team will play also in the Asian Cup in October.

00:59And then we have the Under-15, which the date has not yet been determined,

01:05but we're expecting maybe August will be the tournament, no?

01:09And the host of the tournament will be Taiwan.

01:13We're not sure yet which city in Taiwan will hold the tournament, okay?

01:19And then the last event in December will be the Southeast Asian Games.

01:26Now, the Under-15 is, of course, a very important one because it's going to be a big opportunity for our best players,

01:3515 and under, to play in the Asian Championship.

01:39And hopefully, they can perform well, no?

01:42Now, we're having a series of tryouts that we already started, no?

01:47We started this month.

01:49We're now in the second of the series of tryouts.

01:53This weekend, we are in Ilocos Norte, I'm sorry, to conduct the tryouts for the Under-15.

02:02Previously, we were in San Antonio, Quezon.

02:05And we're looking forward to many more opportunities to host these tryouts.

02:11Carmona, we also had tryouts in Carmona.

02:14So, anyway, we're just getting started and we're looking forward to putting up a very good team for the Under-15 Championship.

02:24Sir, we've already mentioned the tryouts for our national team.

02:28And you're also traveling from other parts of the country.

02:30How are the qualities of our Filipino batters?

02:33And is there also a possibility that PABA will open for tryouts for our women's team?

02:40The tryouts for the women's team are ongoing, no?

02:43We also had that, but it was held in Rizal Memorial, no?

02:48So, the women's team, the men's, we're always tweaking our lineup.

02:54We're always looking for opportunities to find the new talents, no?

02:59So, our latest addition is a player from RTU, no?

03:09Gonzaga, his name is Gonzaga.

03:13So, yeah, it's always a busy time to look for the best players and giving the best players the opportunity to play for the Philippine team.

03:24Alright, well, Sir Pepe, last year, PABA's baseball team had a great performance here in 2024.

03:34So, Sir Pepe, in the World Rankings, we were in the 25th spot.

03:40Any reaction on that?

03:43Oh no, we're very happy.

03:45Masaya po kami, dahil nung nagsimula kami sa PABA, you know, under the leadership of Chito Loizaga's president,

03:55we started in 2018, and it was always our dream to reach number 25.

04:02That was our dream in 2018, no?

04:06Now, we've achieved that, but that's only the first step.

04:12At least we accomplished that.

04:15Now, it's going to be harder, kasi magaling yung mga teams sa higher rankings sa world, no?

04:25The next in line is Spain at 24, but Spain has 822 points.

04:35Tayo, Philippines, we have 451.

04:39So, medyo malaki yung gap, but we're confident that we can still, maybe we don't reach 24 this year,

04:48but at least we will make, we will narrow the gap.

04:52For sure, Segurado will narrow the gap, no?

04:55But at the end of the day, we need to improve, give our players more opportunities to play at the highest level, no?

05:03And hopefully, maybe one day we will have a professional player that is recruited from the Philippines

05:10in a league, let's say, in Japan, or in Taiwan, or in Korea,

05:17or hopefully even the major leagues in the USA, you never know, no?

05:21But our job is to give the players a chance, an opportunity to reach that level,

05:27and hopefully we will be successful.

05:30Ayun naman po, Sir Pepe, let's talk about naman po yung status po ng Philippine Baseball po ngayon, no?

05:35Given na naging matagumpay po yung year 2024, kumusana po ba ang status ng ating Philippine Baseball?

05:40Is it on the rise po? Umaga, mas marami na po tayong na-encourage na young people na itry po itong sport,

05:46and when it comes to international scene naman po, umaga, mas gumagawa po tayo ng ingay,

05:50lalo na sa mga international competitions po natin?

05:54Yeah, well that's a constant effort on our part, no?

05:58For example, you know, what we want to do is we want to bring our coaches to different parts of the country,

06:04so the different parts of the country will see, get that opportunity, no?

06:11Pero natutun ako, dahil maraming maraming interesado.

06:15Like this, I mentioned earlier, this weekend we're in Ilocos, no?

06:22On, when was it, Friday last week, Friday, so that would be on January 17,

06:29nasa San Antonio-Quezon kami, no?

06:34And we were witnessing the championship game of the Quezon Province Provincial Meet,

06:43and the teams that played were Mulanay and Quezon Municipality, no?

06:51And it's very interesting, yung natutun ako kasi I noticed that Quezon Municipality,

06:57which is very isolated, and it's in Alabat Island, and Mulanay, which is quite isolated as well,

07:05yet the quality of the players I saw coming from those towns were, you know,

07:11it was really an eye-opener for me.

07:14So our job, yung job ng trabaho ng PABA, is to continue looking for these potential talents, no?

07:22And bring them to the national team, and giving them the opportunity to play at the highest level.

07:29Alright, Sir Pepe, kamusta naman yung status ng Rizal Baseball Stadium?

07:34Kasi if I'm not mistaken, naga-undergo tayo ng renovations.

07:40Yeah, Bernadette, siguro you were there, no?

07:43You noticed na may trabaho na ginagawa.

07:46They started with the retrofitting, no?

07:50Actually, these are jobs that should have been done earlier.

07:54Unfortunately, the Philippine Sports Commission did not have the budget or the funds to do these renovations.

08:00But nevertheless, we're still happy that PSC, now that it has the money,

08:06they have proceeded with the renovation, no?

08:09So initially, it was a retrofitting.

08:12Right now, they're working on the bleachers.

08:15There will be adjustments made to the outfield fence.

08:19And then we're working with the PSC right now to put in some training facilities.

08:25Facilities to enhance the training of our players, no?

08:29For example, an indoor batting cage and a batting tunnel or batting cage for the outdoor,

08:41which is to prevent the balls from flying different directions, no?

08:46So those are things.

08:47Fortunately, the PSC already gave us a pitching machine, which has been very helpful for the training.

08:56And so we're very encouraged.

08:59We're very happy that PSC has supported us.

09:03And yeah, we'll continue making all the improvements that we are capable of doing as soon as we have the opportunity.

09:12That's nice, right? We have a pitching machine for our country.

09:17Sir Pepe, after this renovation, how long will this take?

09:25I think there will be a delay because of the election ban.

09:30So we were informed that starting March 28, they will have to stop the work temporarily.

09:36But I'm sure that even by June or July, substantial work would have been completed.

09:44July, maybe August.

09:46We're keeping our fingers crossed.

09:49We also need to replace the roof of the Rizal Memorial.

09:57What else?

09:58Well, what we're hoping for, it's not yet a project that is lined up for implementation.

10:07What we're hoping for is lights, no?

10:11It would be great to have lights in the Rizal Memorial Baseball.

10:16Because our players can practice at night.

10:23This would give them the opportunities to have regular jobs and then come to Rizal Memorial to practice at night.

10:36So we're looking forward to it.

10:38Hopefully, I know there's been a lot of discussion at the PSC.

10:42We're just hoping that soon it will be finally approved.

10:47The other benefit, Bernadette, since you've been on the field, is we can also play games at night.

10:55Like the UAP games or the Liga Baseball Philippines can also play at night.

11:02To give people who are working in the office all day a chance to come to watch the games.

11:08So let's see. Let's keep our fingers crossed that everything will come together for us.

11:15Sir Pepe, for sure, you've seen the layout of the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

11:20Once everything is set up.

11:22But Sir Pepe, after the renovations that are being done to the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium,

11:28do you think it's possible that in the near future,

11:31the international baseball games will be held here at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila?

11:39Yeah, that's a possibility.

11:42That's a possibility.

11:43Except, normally you need two fields to be able to host an international tournament.

11:52That's why we were hosting in Clark.

11:55Because in Clark, there's only one field.

11:58So it's really very conducive in Clark.

12:03But if we have one more field, then we can regularly host international tournaments.

12:10At least one more field in Manila.

12:12So we're looking forward to that.

12:13Hopefully, one day, we will achieve that objective.

12:19Imagine how it will happen.

12:21It will be closer.

12:22More fans will be able to watch.

12:24If not here in Manila.

12:26Sir Pepe, this coming PSA Awards, this coming Monday,

12:30it's a Monday already for our Philippine Amateur Baseball Team.

12:35Because of a very successful year for 2024 for our baseball team.

12:40How do you feel that our cuponan here at the PSA Awards is coming one day?

12:47Well, we're always happy when the sports writers and the sports presenters,

12:55all the people in the sports community recognize what we have accomplished.

13:00So, natutu ako, we're very happy about it.

13:04And well, we still have a lot more improvement to do.

13:10But at least we're happy that up to this point, we've already accomplished some of our objectives.

13:17Sir Pepe, who do we expect to go to the PSA Awards?

13:21For sure, we will cover all the PSA Awards.

13:24But who do we expect from PABA?

13:27Yeah, well, we were given two invitations.

13:30So, our head coach, Vince Sagisi will be there,

13:34together with one of our performing players from the East Asia Cup,

13:39Vargas will be there.

13:42So, the two of them will attend on behalf of PABA.

13:47Sir, for our grassroots tournaments, we have Babe Ruth Baseball League.

13:52Can you tell us, can you elaborate about this?

13:58Yeah, I don't have yet the schedule of Babe Ruth, but it's coming up.

14:03I don't know the exact month.

14:06I don't know if it's April or somewhere, it's coming up.

14:10But then there's also the Little League Philippines Series,

14:14which will be held in Pambuhan, Northern Samar.

14:18So, Little League has been, for the longest time, one of our major contributors to our national team.

14:26And then, ongoing, the Department of Education, like I mentioned earlier,

14:31we were in San Antonio, Quezon, to witness the provincial tournament of Quezon.

14:38And that's going on all over the country.

14:42And in March, there will be the regional meets all over.

14:47So, NCR, all the 18 regions of DEPED will be having their regional meet,

14:54and baseball will be part of that.

14:56So, it's an exciting time.

14:59I'm always excited when I hear about the DEPED programs,

15:03because it really contributes a lot to what we're trying to accomplish.

15:08So, we are thankful to DEPED that they continue supporting baseball.

15:17Sir, you mentioned DEPED.

15:19So, for sure, baseball will not disappear when it comes to international games,

15:24and other grassroots tournaments.

15:26What is the involvement of PAVA when it comes to these grassroots tournaments, like games?

15:31What are the assessments that we see from all over the country

15:36when it comes to grassroots tournaments, like international games?

15:44PAVA's main efforts in terms of international games and DEPED

15:50is to provide technical support to the technical officials of DEPED.

15:56So, we work very closely with them.

16:00And then, I'm happy to say that many DEPED technical officials

16:05have undergone training under PAVA,

16:11and we've also sent them abroad, not only for training,

16:14but also to umpire in international events.

16:17So, we've had a few DEPED umpires joining the international tournaments.

16:24So, the current experience, and with that experience,

16:28the officiating will improve at the DEPED level.

16:31So, our contribution is to expose the technical officials of DEPED to these opportunities,

16:40and we'll just get better from here.

16:44So, I'm happy that the technical officials of DEPED have also done their part

16:51by learning and bringing their knowledge back to the country.

16:56Sir Pepe, after this grassroots, of course, we have a lot of tournaments lined up this year.

17:03Here in the League of Baseball Philippines, Season 1 has just ended.

17:08What's next for this year?

17:11Yeah, we're working right now.

17:13We're working right now to start developing the next season.

17:19So, we're looking at…

17:22Well, we were hoping April, but we have a conflict with UAP,

17:27so we might have to delay a little bit.

17:29Sometime in May, we will start.

17:32So, we're looking forward to that because it's very important

17:37that our players get more opportunities to play a high level of baseball.

17:43So, we're working on that, and we're looking forward to that next tournament.

17:49For those who don't know, Sir Pepe is also a baseball player.

17:55So, Sir Pepe, what's the future of baseball in the Philippines?

18:00What can we see as progress of baseball in the country?

18:06Yes, well, we played at a very high level.

18:13Let's go back to 1954.

18:15The Philippines was the Asian champion in 1954

18:20with Teodolo Lefty Viray as the star of the team at that time.

18:25He pitched three games, and he performed very well

18:29and won the championship for the Philippines.

18:32So, we want to get back to that level.

18:35We want to be competitive with Japan, Korea, Taiwan

18:40because those are among the top three in the world right now.

18:48Taiwan or Chinese Taipei is actually ranking number two right now.

18:52Japan is number one.

18:54Then Korea, I don't remember exactly.

18:56They're number four, number five.

18:58So, you can just imagine if we can reach, achieve the level of play that they are at,

19:05then, wow, a top ten in the world.

19:09Now, I don't know.

19:12But hopefully, our players will continue improving.

19:15They will continue to learn the game and learn

19:27I just pray that we can reach that level sooner rather than later.

19:32So, hopefully in my lifetime.

20:03Yeah, well, the good news is we will do our best

20:08to go out to all the corners of the country

20:14so that we can engage them to join us in what we're trying to do.

20:23We want to give the opportunities to all the boys who are out there

20:27who love the game of baseball.

20:29We want to give all of them the opportunities to become good players

20:33and perform well and hopefully even improve the national team.

20:38As I mentioned, we've been to San Antonio, Quezon.

20:42We've been to Carmona, Cavite.

20:45We're always with Tanawan Batangas this week in Ilocos.

20:50Our next one we're planning is in Davao.

20:54And then after Davao, maybe Iloilo.

20:57So, we're trying to spread the word all over.

21:02We're hoping to get people all over the country to engage with PABA

21:07so that we can improve PABA, improve the quality of play, improve the players

21:13and give all these opportunities to the young kids.

21:18We're just praying that everything will come together.

21:28Again, Sir Pepe, thank you very much for inviting us.

21:34Yes, thank you very much.

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