22
Philippine Showbiz Today
October 22 - November
April 8 - 21, 7, 2018
2017
Softball
The legend of Orlando Binarao
Whenever sports fans gather
and the conversation turns, as it
should, to discussion on the “best
Filipino baseball or softball player,”
expect someone to mention name
you never heard.
Of course, many will recall how
Teodulo “Lefty” Viray pitched the
Philippine team to the First Asian
Baseball Federation championship
in 1954. Or Filomeno “Boy” Co-
dinera Jr. belted out seven doubles in
three games during the Men’s World
Softball Championship in 1968 to in-
scribe his name and the country’s to
the Guinness Book of World Record.
Or Julita “Darigold” Tayo being
named the world’s “best left-handed
pitcher” because of her exploit dur-
ing the Women’s World Softball tilt in
1970 in Osaka, Japan.
Many household names like
Johnny Briones, Arturo Pagsisihan,
Julio Tingzon, Baby Manzanares, to
mention a few of the baseball fame
and Hernando “Kulafu” Posadas, Fe-
lino Francisco, Ricardo Regis, Arlene
Fabian, etc. in softball will most-like-
ly cropped up, too.
But one really has to put Or-
lando Binarao’s name in the list.
Yes, Orlando Binarao, who like his
guru, Boy Codinera, played baseball
(pitcher and outfielder) and softball
(centerfielder and right fielder) with
excellence since age 10.
A product of Zamboanga City’s
strong baseball/softball program,
Lando was s permanent fixture in
his home province’s inter-schools,
provincial and regional competitions
from where he graduated to the
Palarong Pambansa, discovered by
Codinera, who brought him to Ad-
amson University and remained one
of the Falcons’ mainstays in many
UAAP and national title conquests
from 1989 to 1994.
It was during those period when
earned his place as member of both
the Philippine baseball and softball
teams to countless Asian Games,
Asian tourneys, and Southeast Asian
Games. The last time he carried the
national colors was in 2015 SEA
Games in Singapore here the Philip-
pine Blu Boys captured the crown in
as many times softball is played in
the biennial conclave.
Having no really big league
domestic tournaments nowadays in
both his favourite sports, one can’t
see any voluminous record of his
accomplishments. He isn’t there
beca