THERE’S a brewing rivalry in UAAP baseball community. And it goes beyond the players and coaches.
The top brass of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines may have some things in common, but it’s a big difference at the diamond, where the 86th Season baseball edition championship crown is at stake.
Team manager Wopsy Zamora of National University Bulldogs and De la Salle University Archers’ boss Jose Pepe Muñoz share the same advocacy in regaining the popularity of the sport in the 70s, when fans used to queue for tickets at the box-office of the historic Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate,Manila.
Baseball runs in the blood of Zamora and Muñoz. The cousins in the Lichauco side were sluggers in the collegiate leagues before getting the management chores in National University and De La Salle University, accordingly.
Zamora and Munoz, chairman and president, respectively, of the newly established Liga ng Baseball sa Pilipinas (LBP), a professional baseball league, where games will be held at night to add glamour at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, both aim to surpass the crowd-drawing success of team sports such as basketball and volleyball.
In the UAAP baseball arena, the big bosses are on a crossroads as it’s going to be a clash of the titans between powerhouse title contender NU Bulldogs and defending champion DLSU Archers.
The Bustillos batters will try to end its 12-year title drought, while the Taft-based sluggers are going for a three-peat when they collide at 4 p.m. on Thursday in Game 1 of their best-of-3 championship at the UP Baseball Field in Diliman,Quezon City.
“It’s a battle between destiny and dynasty. After over two decades of a championship drought, our hungrier Bulldogs are destined to bring back the glory in baseball against the Archers who are seeking a 3-peat in this prestigious league,” said Zamora as he urged his Bulldogs to bring home the bacon.
NU’s phenomenal coach Romar Landicho, who sent the team to the finals in his first stint, will be up against La Salle’s head coach Saki Bacarisas, who was also the Bulldogs’ tactician when they won the UAAP crown back in 2012 against Zamora’s alma mater Ateneo, the same team NU booted out in their semifinal match after the Archers showed the door to University of Santo Tomas over the weekend.