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FuzzyRussianHat · 12-15-2025, 07:57 PM

The 74^th Austronesia Championship was the first finals battle between the Filipino and Malaysian capitals. Kuala Lumpur was in their fourth finals of the decade and looking for their third title, having also won in 2031 and 2035. Manila hadn’t been to the finals since 1999 and their only ring was back in 1986, 51 years prior. The Manatees had home field and saw their bullpen step up big in game one after starter Stanley Hwang went down with an injury after one inning. They gave up only one run and three hits the rest of the way in 3-1 opening win.

Game two was even more of a pitcher’s duel with no runs scored through 13 innings. Finally in the bottom of the 14^th, Derrick Gustavo smacked a two-run homer to send the Manila fans home happy on a 2-0 win for the 2-0 series lead. The Leopards got the better of a game three pitcher’s duel back in Malaysia with a 2-1 score. Thipanraj Shahdan was the winning pitcher with one run and six hits allowed with 11 strikeouts over eight innings.

KL evened the series on a 3-1 score in the fourth contest, scoring their runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Manila opened up 5-0 after the third in game five, but the Leopards exploded with a six-run fourth inning. However, the Manatees went back ahead on a three-run sixth inning en route to a 8-6 victory; the first road winner of the series. This gave Manila the edge heading back to the Philippines. They would be unable to close out though in a game six marathon.

Manila had a solo run in the fourth and Kuala Lumpur one in the sixth. Game six stayed locked up at 1-1 deep into extras with hits few and far between. In the top of the 14^th, the Leopards loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, enabling a sacrifice fly by Fong Chin. A 1-2-3 bottom half gave KL the 2-1 road win to force the first game seven in the APB final since 2027.

Kuala Lumpur opened game seven with a two-run first inning. Manila eventually evened it up with solo homers in the fourth and seventh innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Julkarnain Hidayati had a leadoff homer to put the Manatees ahead. The 3B wasn’t someone you expected homers from with only 15 in his 490 game career to that point.

Manila got a walk and two hits after that for an extra insurance run which proved crucial. On the first pitch of the ninth, the Leopards’ Ahmad Amzar smacked a solo homer. However, the next three hitters were retired consecutively, allowing the Manatees to escape with the 4-3 win and their second APB title. Hidayati’s homer helped him seal series MVP. It was his only RBI of the series, but he led in hits going 9-25 with 5 runs. Every game of the series was decided by one or two runs.

In other playoff notables, KL’s John Gonzalez set the playoff record for innings with 40.2, posting a 1.11 ERA and 37 Ks in five starts. Manila reliever Cody Damaso set the record for appearances with 11, although he had a 3.50 ERA in his 18 innings. The Leopards also saw a new APB playoff record by 1B Kai Bravo, who drew 13 walks in the playoff run.

Other notes: Both Ronald Arias and Wei-Yin Wang passed what was the long-standing career record for runs scored of Junior Sanchez (1446) with Arias to 1553 and Wang to 1448. Both have a long way to catch Binh Tang’s 1915, although with Tang gone to MLB, his numbers are set unless he later returns to APB. Arias also became the 6^th to 600 career homers. Wang became the 3^rd to 1500 RBI behind only Tang and Wil Tabaldo.

In other milestones, Shen Chang was the 16^th to 500 homers and he became one of 75 with 2000 hits. James Yuwono became the 14^th to 2500 hits. Isa Amirudin and Ashraf Zeky were the 40^th and 41^st to 1000 runs scored, while Amirudin was the 50^th to 1000 RBI. For pitching notables, Fred Pasaya was the 43^rd to 3500 strikeouts and Hakimi Aziz was the 32^nd to 200 wins.

It was the final season for three-time Pitcher of the Year Kuan-Yang Kang, who had a 16-year run with Tainan. He finished with a 231-137 record, 2.16 ERA, 3402.1 innings, 5332 strikeouts, 141 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 119.2 WAR. Kang retired 24^th in the world for strikeouts and 3^rd in APB history, while ranking 13^th in wins and 8^th in APB pitching WAR. He also has 11 Gold Gloves, the most in world history for a pitcher.

Chiayi’s Maysaroh Putro had only the 4^th four home run game in APB history, doing it against Taipei on July 18. Bryan Surdani had a 30-game hit streak for Manila in the summer, which was the 4^th-longest streak in APB history. 3B Chun-Jung Lai won his 7^th Silver Slugger.

Hsinchu’s Liu-Ching Chang set a bad record getting caught stealing 98 times, which was the most in a single-season in any world league, ever. Chang did at least have 64 successful steals and led with a .388 OBP. The Sweathogs’ pitching continued to be atrocious as their 4.13 team ERA, 1464 hits allowed, 755 runs, 663 earned runs, 9.12 H/9, and 1.332 WHIP were all either the 2^nd or 3^rd-worst for those stats in APB history. I suppose it was an improvement, since the dirt worst for each stat was set the prior year by the Sweathogs.

12-15-2025, 07:57 PM	#2622
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,020	2038 Austronesia Championship The 74^th Austronesia Championship was the first finals battle between the Filipino and Malaysian capitals. Kuala Lumpur was in their fourth finals of the decade and looking for their third title, having also won in 2031 and 2035. Manila hadn’t been to the finals since 1999 and their only ring was back in 1986, 51 years prior. The Manatees had home field and saw their bullpen step up big in game one after starter Stanley Hwang went down with an injury after one inning. They gave up only one run and three hits the rest of the way in 3-1 opening win. Game two was even more of a pitcher’s duel with no runs scored through 13 innings. Finally in the bottom of the 14^th, Derrick Gustavo smacked a two-run homer to send the Manila fans home happy on a 2-0 win for the 2-0 series lead. The Leopards got the better of a game three pitcher’s duel back in Malaysia with a 2-1 score. Thipanraj Shahdan was the winning pitcher with one run and six hits allowed with 11 strikeouts over eight innings. KL evened the series on a 3-1 score in the fourth contest, scoring their runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Manila opened up 5-0 after the third in game five, but the Leopards exploded with a six-run fourth inning. However, the Manatees went back ahead on a three-run sixth inning en route to a 8-6 victory; the first road winner of the series. This gave Manila the edge heading back to the Philippines. They would be unable to close out though in a game six marathon. Manila had a solo run in the fourth and Kuala Lumpur one in the sixth. Game six stayed locked up at 1-1 deep into extras with hits few and far between. In the top of the 14^th, the Leopards loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, enabling a sacrifice fly by Fong Chin. A 1-2-3 bottom half gave KL the 2-1 road win to force the first game seven in the APB final since 2027. Kuala Lumpur opened game seven with a two-run first inning. Manila eventually evened it up with solo homers in the fourth and seventh innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Julkarnain Hidayati had a leadoff homer to put the Manatees ahead. The 3B wasn’t someone you expected homers from with only 15 in his 490 game career to that point. Manila got a walk and two hits after that for an extra insurance run which proved crucial. On the first pitch of the ninth, the Leopards’ Ahmad Amzar smacked a solo homer. However, the next three hitters were retired consecutively, allowing the Manatees to escape with the 4-3 win and their second APB title. Hidayati’s homer helped him seal series MVP. It was his only RBI of the series, but he led in hits going 9-25 with 5 runs. Every game of the series was decided by one or two runs. In other playoff notables, KL’s John Gonzalez set the playoff record for innings with 40.2, posting a 1.11 ERA and 37 Ks in five starts. Manila reliever Cody Damaso set the record for appearances with 11, although he had a 3.50 ERA in his 18 innings. The Leopards also saw a new APB playoff record by 1B Kai Bravo, who drew 13 walks in the playoff run. Other notes: Both Ronald Arias and Wei-Yin Wang passed what was the long-standing career record for runs scored of Junior Sanchez (1446) with Arias to 1553 and Wang to 1448. Both have a long way to catch Binh Tang’s 1915, although with Tang gone to MLB, his numbers are set unless he later returns to APB. Arias also became the 6^th to 600 career homers. Wang became the 3^rd to 1500 RBI behind only Tang and Wil Tabaldo. In other milestones, Shen Chang was the 16^th to 500 homers and he became one of 75 with 2000 hits. James Yuwono became the 14^th to 2500 hits. Isa Amirudin and Ashraf Zeky were the 40^th and 41^st to 1000 runs scored, while Amirudin was the 50^th to 1000 RBI. For pitching notables, Fred Pasaya was the 43^rd to 3500 strikeouts and Hakimi Aziz was the 32^nd to 200 wins. It was the final season for three-time Pitcher of the Year Kuan-Yang Kang, who had a 16-year run with Tainan. He finished with a 231-137 record, 2.16 ERA, 3402.1 innings, 5332 strikeouts, 141 ERA+, 57 FIP-, and 119.2 WAR. Kang retired 24^th in the world for strikeouts and 3^rd in APB history, while ranking 13^th in wins and 8^th in APB pitching WAR. He also has 11 Gold Gloves, the most in world history for a pitcher. Chiayi’s Maysaroh Putro had only the 4^th four home run game in APB history, doing it against Taipei on July 18. Bryan Surdani had a 30-game hit streak for Manila in the summer, which was the 4^th-longest streak in APB history. 3B Chun-Jung Lai won his 7^th Silver Slugger. Hsinchu’s Liu-Ching Chang set a bad record getting caught stealing 98 times, which was the most in a single-season in any world league, ever. Chang did at least have 64 successful steals and led with a .388 OBP. The Sweathogs’ pitching continued to be atrocious as their 4.13 team ERA, 1464 hits allowed, 755 runs, 663 earned runs, 9.12 H/9, and 1.332 WHIP were all either the 2^nd or 3^rd-worst for those stats in APB history. I suppose it was an improvement, since the dirt worst for each stat was set the prior year by the Sweathogs. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)