FORWARD TAGUIG extended its hot streak to take solo second place by thumping Makati, 14-0, Sunday in the Baseball Philippines Series III at the Rizal Memorial Ballpark.

A three-run first and second inning explosion was all the Patriots needed in ruling the match, which saw them scattering 12 hits. They have won six straight and improved to 6-3.

Ernesto Binarao complemented the Patriots’ early offensive onslaught by allowing just three hits and fanning five before giving the mound to Ronaldo de los Reyes, who gave up four hits.

The Mariners remained winless in eight games.

The Patriots’ ascent to second came after Dumaguete (4-4) erected a rally extinguishing an eight-run deficit over erstwhile second placer Cebu (5-3) to force an 8-8 tie before play was suspended because of the three-hour limit also Sunday.

Bambol Servo capped off the rally with a two-run homer off Cebu pitcher Jeffrey Ardio in a six-run eighth inning to tie the game.

“I was not worried that we were trailing because we are really used to coming from behind,” said Dumaguete playing team manager Lito Pulgo.

The game was suspended and will be played on a later date. If a nine-inning game exceeds three hours with the game still tied, the game will be suspended and will be resumed at a later date—only if it has a bearing in the standings.

Batangas scored three runs in the eighth inning to put a stain on the Manila Sharks’ record, 11-9, in Sunday’s other game. The Bulls recovered from the Sharks’ four-run seventh-inning performance in improving to a 4-4 card and sending the Sharks to their first loss in eight matches.

Top of the world

PARIS—Two young women have become the world’s newest Grand Slam titlist, and they’ll share the world’s No. 1 ranking beginning next week.

Woods tops SI.com’s list of top-earning US athletes

Tiger Woods has made almost $128 million in prize money and endorsements over the past year, more than twice as much as any other US professional athlete, according to Sports Illustrated.

BOSTON—The burden of a franchise sits on Kobe Bryant’s shoulders, the pressure escalating since the shots began missing toward the end of Game One.

Philippine participation in the Jones Cup in Taiwan in July remained in limbo over the weekend, but Junel Baculi, who was tasked to coach the Harbour Centre-backed team, would start putting the national squad together this week.

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. is batting for a Cabinet portfolio for the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) so that it would have a stronger voice in the government setup.

FORWARD TAGUIG extended its hot streak to take solo second place by thumping Makati, 14-0, Sunday in the Baseball Philippines Series III at the Rizal Memorial Ballpark.

FILIPINO Olympian Eric Ang came up one point short of the finals of the trap shooting event of the 2008 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup from June 4 to 6 in Seul, Germany.

WHEN you arrive in Iloilo via plane, right outside the airport is a queue of jeepneys and buses that ply routes of just about everywhere in this West Visayas port. If you ask any driver how to get to Barotac Nuevo, almost inevitably, he’ll ask if you’re here to watch football. He knows you’re a tourist because you don’t speak Illongo; for if you did, you wouldn’t be asking.