The Philippine men’s baseball team blasted Laos to stay unscathed, setting their sights on a rematch with host Thailand in the gold-medal round of the 2025 SEA Games.
The Philippines continued its dominant run at the Southeast Asian Games, cruising to a 12–0 shutout over Laos at the Sirikit Secondary Baseball Stadium on Thursday, December 11.
A day after being pushed to the limit by host Thailand in an 8–7 thriller, the Nationals returned to their commanding form to finish the preliminaries undefeated at 6–0.
[ALSO READ: SEA Games: Philippines assured of baseball finals, outlasts Thailand in extra inning]
After a quiet first two innings, Leonel Matanguihan delivered a clutch two-run RBI in the third, driving in both runners to give the Philippines a 2–0 lead.
That opened the floodgates, as the Nationals erupted for 10 more runs across the fifth and sixth innings, breaking the game wide open and securing another impressive shutout victory.
With the gold medal on the line, the Philippines will face the Thai sluggers anew on Friday, December 12 at 1:00 p.m., aiming to complete a perfect run and defend its SEA Games title.
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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.