Bellville Tygers claim 16th title
MARK WARD
Bellville Tygers retained the Cape Town Baseball Federation's Major League title following a nail-biting victory against nearest rivals Athlone Athletics, at home, at the weekend.
Coach Allan Phillips could not hide his excitement following his side’s 5-4 win over Athlone Athletics to clinch the title for a record 16th time since unification. Phillips has been involved in the 16 successes both as a player and coach. He says proudly: “The others seasons when we did not win the title we ended second or third.”
The veteran coach ascribed the triumph to the dedication of the players while also stressing the importance of discipline and being present at training.
“This is the most important aspect of baseball and sport in general: discipline and dedication to training is unconditional. Every youngster must know this, being dedicated to training will result in success,” said Phillips soon after his side's victory over A’s at the PP Smit sports ground.
He also paid tribute to his “baseball-mad” family. “You know my wife Gussie and my children have been extremely dedicated to Bellville and baseball overall. We are all in this club with the purpose to serve baseball. We also have great community support which helps to put good structures in place,” he said.
"The older one gets, the more emotional these successes become as it has more meaning now. Especially if you consider we are playing with new and young players and you take a look at the pipeline and such great talent coming through. It makes one emotional.
“I also want to thank the community for their support. Over the years there were and still are people wanting to assist. That has been superb over the years,” Allan added.
Other score results: Bothasig 8, Durbanville Knights 1; Helderberg Tygers 8, VOB Macaws 12.