After a strong start to the SEA Games 2025 in Thailand, Philippine men’s baseball head coach Orlando Binarao remained focused and pointied to host Thailand as the team’s biggest challenge in their title defense.
Even with the weight of being the defending champions, Clarence Caasalan and the Philippine men’s baseball team are making sure to savor every moment of their SEA Games 2025 Thailand campaign.
“Ine-enjoy lang namin yung game and hindi namin masyadong iniisip na idefend [yung title]. Nandoon din na kailangan namin idefend pero kailangan din naman mag-enjoy sa game,” the 29-year-old shortstop said in a Cignal interview after their 14-0 trashing of Indonesia to open their title defense.
The Nationals wasted no time asserting their authority.
Eight runs in the first two innings set the tone, and three more in the fifth and sixth innings cemented their complete domination over their Southeast Asian counterparts.
“Maganda ‘yung start namin kasi gusto talaga namin makuha yung unang panalo para tuloy-tuloy lang,” Caasalan added.
Locked and loaded
Head coach Orlando Binarao emphasized that the preparation has been meticulous, with a clear target: back-to-back SEA Games titles and a fourth overall crown.
“Pinaghandaan namin itong SEA Games kasi kami ang defending champions. Hindi namin basta-basta ibibigay ito,” he said.
Binarao also pointed to one country as their biggest threat in the gold-medal race: “’Yung host country Thailand talaga ang pinaghahandaan namin kasi nasa kanila ang home-court advantage,” he said.
Up next for Team Philippines is Singapore, who opened their SEA Games campaign with a 13-1 rout of Laos.
Their showdown is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 7, at 10:30 a.m. (PH time).
[ALSO READ: SCHEDULE | Team Philippines competes at SEA Games 2025 Thailand]
(With reports from Reg Lorque, Bea Gadiano/Cignal)
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.