Asians claim bragging rights at WBC

LOS ANGELES: Major League Baseball multi-millionaires were sent packing from the World Baseball Classic by Japan and South Korea in a triumph for Asian supremacy in the beloved American pastime.

Defending Classic champion Japan defeated the United States 9-4 Sunday to book a Monday date in the final against reigning Olympic champions South Korea, which dispatched an all-star Venezuelan lineup from the US league 10-2.

"Japan won but just by looking at this game you can't say Japan was better than America. We don't feel like that," said Japan catcher Kenji Johjima, one of five Major League Baseball players on Japan's roster.