00:05Joining us this week is the head coach of the Philippine National Baseball Team, Coach Doc Sagisi.
00:14So coach, welcome to PTV Sports. Thank you so much for this interview.
00:18Thank you so much coach.
00:19Good afternoon.
00:20Coach, first hand, congratulations. The Philippine team grabbed their fifth straight title in this East Asia Cup.
00:27How are you feeling about the success of our national team in this East Asia Cup?
00:31I'm very excited. I was happy that we were able to win it in front of the home teams or our home crowd.
00:39You never know what to expect, especially when you're favored to win.
00:46We did our job, coaches, players, they got the job done to be able to give us our fifth straight championship.
00:56I'd like to thank personally Bernadette and the PTV Sports family for really embracing our men's national team.
01:08They came out to resolve and really promoted what we were trying to do in terms of elevating the quality of baseball here in the Philippines.
01:19Coach, this is the fifth straight title of our national team.
01:22Can you say that we are a powerhouse in terms of this sport and what our team will do to maintain this status as a powerhouse in terms of baseball?
01:31Yes, I totally believe that. I didn't come from the U.S. to think that we're not going to be the next great baseball Asian country.
01:42Obviously, there's Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China, but the Philippines as a nation are geared for success in baseball just because of their size.
01:54They can compete and they're very athletic, so we have a bright future.
02:00Like I said, we just need the support of the Philippine Sports Commission, PABA, the Amateur Baseball Association, to continue to support baseball here in the Philippines.
02:12I've said in previous interviews that we are the next great baseball Asian country, and I believe that sincerely, or I wouldn't have come from the U.S.
02:25I really believe in the quality of baseball here in the Philippines, and we're just trying to elevate it.
02:30Coach, what did you see to our Philippine batters? Why is there continuous success for our Philippine team?
02:37What's the secret for our Philippine team? Why are we continuing to rule the East Asia Cup?
02:46For me, we changed the philosophy of our hitters.
02:50Here in the Philippines, they're more what we call in the U.S. as a small ball where they do a lot of bunting.
03:00We pretty much implemented a no-bunt rule just to allow the players to see the other side of what they could do.
03:08When you let players hit, which is my philosophy, good things are going to happen because I have these three beliefs.
03:18A player believes in themselves, believes in their teammates, and believes in their coaches.
03:23Then good things start to happen, and our players embraced it.
03:27Even guys that normally would not hit the kind of hits that they had, we allowed them to be free swingers.
03:37Their natural talent took over, and guys like John Vargas, who I don't think was a starter in the previous East Asia Cup.
03:48He was a monster. I could go down the list. They just embraced it and changed it.
03:56That's why we scored a lot of runs. Plus, we didn't bunt.
04:01No disrespect to the other coaches. It's just my philosophy of hitting that I believe in allowing our hitters to hit.
04:10We don't have any signs. There was an instance where one of my assistant coaches told John Vargas on a 3-0 pitch to take,
04:19and I said, no, no, no, we don't do that.
04:21Sure enough, he got a fastball on a 3-0 count with the bases loaded, and we were down 2-1 against Hong Kong.
04:28He hit a line drive single to left.
04:31In the finals.
04:32No, it was the game previous to that.
04:35So that's all. We just changed the mindset and philosophy of our hitters.
04:40Coach, let's talk about our U12 team. I know you're not handling this very young team, but they finished 5th in the Asian Baseball Championship.
04:49What's your reaction to this progress for our youngsters, young batters?
04:53Like I said, what we're trying to do is elevate the entire baseball program here in the Philippines.
05:02Having said that, everybody, including the 12U, we're trying to get everybody on the same page.
05:10And they did a fabulous job.
05:12Unfortunately, they ran into Japan and China. They lost 2-0 to China.
05:19Had they won, they would have been in the Super Round and finished in 4th or top 4.
05:24But they still had a great showing. They came in 5th place.
05:28They beat the teams that they're supposed to beat.
05:31And I thought they were very competitive with the powerhouses.
05:36In Asia, it's Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China.
05:41It's always them.
05:42It's always them.
05:43So we're trying to break into that group.
05:46I think, like I said, with support from you guys and our governing bodies, I think that's doable.
05:54And we just need the support.
05:58We have the talent.
06:00Filipinos are great athletes, as you guys know.
06:03And they should embrace baseball because they're better suited for baseball in terms of their size, their physicality.
06:11I know the country loves basketball.
06:15But when you're competing against the other European or basketball countries, they have the size over the Filipinos.
06:24That's all I'll say.
06:25Yes, Coach.
06:26Speaking of grassroots, can you tell us your participation in the Babe Ruth League Philippines?
06:32Yes.
06:33I'm very excited for Babe Ruth Philippines because it's a new grassroots youth program, baseball program,
06:41that we have collaborated with.
06:43The Philippine National Baseball Team has collaborated with them.
06:47And we just went and did a camp in Mindanao, which is your hometown, which I didn't know until you told me.
06:55We had over 200 kids, 200 baseball players.
07:00And we wanted to start with that because of the fact that it's out in the province.
07:06So a lot of those players are not getting the visibility like the players here in and around Manila.
07:14So it went well.
07:16And that's what we're trying to do.
07:18We're trying to grow baseball all over the country.
07:21There are 7,000 islands.
07:23I don't think we're going to get to all 7,000 islands.
07:26But we started in Mindanao.
07:28And I think the next one is going to be the Luzon, Visayas region.
07:35I'm not very good at that.
07:37And they're having a tournament right now, Babe Ruth, in Kuala Lumpur as kind of a local tournament.
07:45But, yeah, we're just trying to add to it.
07:48We're not trying to compete against Little League or Pony.
07:54We just want to enhance and provide more opportunities for the baseball players here in the Philippines.
08:03So I'm excited about that.
08:05So, yeah, we're growing the game of baseball.
08:08And that's why I'm excited about it.
08:10And, again, we need the support from the people that have the financial wherewithal to really elevate baseball here in the Philippines.
08:20Looking forward to that program.
08:22Going back to East Asia Cup.
08:24Of course, Coach, I saw your training.
08:26And, Coach, Sagis is very strict.
08:29Oh, you can do that?
08:31Very strict.
08:32Really?
08:33Are you very strict?
08:34In terms of training, are you really strict to the kids or the team?
08:38Bernadette, yes.
08:41Why is that, Coach?
08:43I'm a true believer in how you play.
08:49I train players for the game.
08:53And I do get upset at practice when things are not being done in a respectful manner.
09:02I'm a big believer in respecting the game and how you play and conduct yourself.
09:08Unfortunately, Bernadette showed up on a day when our players were being disrespectful to the game.
09:18And I don't mince my words.
09:21That's just me.
09:22But I'm a practice coach.
09:25So I'm a real big proponent of that.
09:28And then I allow my assistant coaches and players to just play the game in the games.
09:35I oversee and manage the way the game is being played.
09:40But the hands-on coaching is left to my assistant coaches and players.
09:45And, again, they're the ones that should be getting the credit for winning the East Asia Cup Championship.
09:54Yes, you can say I was the head coach.
09:56But, again, they're the ones that have to execute.
10:00I just have to make sure that they're prepared to compete.
10:04And then it's a matter of their execution.
10:06And they did a fabulous job.
10:08I give credit to all my assistant coaches as well as the players.
10:11And, of course, Coach, because of your strategy and strict policy, we dominate the East Asia Baseball Cup again.
10:20So what can you say about the performance of our team?
10:23Our MVP, Romeo Hasmin.
10:25And we have several awardees like Clarence Casalan and Steven Manaig and others.
10:36Romeo Hasmin was the MVP.
10:38He started our first game and then also the championship game.
10:44And it was all by design.
10:45Everything was pre-planned.
10:47We planned it out.
10:48We communicated to the players when they're going to pitch.
10:52And which games they're going to pitch.
10:54So he was outstanding.
10:55I mean, he's a seasoned veteran.
10:57He doesn't throw very hard.
11:00But he throws all his pitches for strikes.
11:03And when you can do that, it's very tough to hit.
11:07And then, you know, Steven Manaig was the best catcher.
11:12And he was playing with a heavy heart.
11:14His grandfather passed away a day or two before the tournament started.
11:21And nobody knew about it.
11:22I did.
11:24You know, I mean, he kept it to himself pretty much and didn't really say anything.
11:28We kind of knew it.
11:30And he played great.
11:32Hit a couple of home runs and caught very well.
11:37Clarence Casalan was the best reliever as well as the best third baseman.
11:41I called him in a press conference that we did in the Philippine Sports Commission
11:46with the Philippine sports writers that, you know, he was our Shohei Otani.
11:50And he proved it by being the best reliever and best third baseman.
11:55And the only reason why I didn't start him as a pitcher was because of the fact that
12:00he was so valuable at third base.
12:03And then Lord Aragon de Vera, best defensive shortstop.
12:07And Kyle Soberano, RBI.
12:11So I could go on and on and on.
12:14I mean, there were other players that deserved to be.
12:17I mean, Harper C., I thought, was the best first baseman.
12:20He had a great series.
12:22Unfortunately, you know, they gave the award to Team Singapore's player.
12:26And then, you know, Mark Baranila, left-handed power hitter.
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