Philippine Blu Girls gain Final Four with back-to-back wins
The Philippines swept past Singapore then edged South Korea Monday to boost its chance for at least a bronze medal in the 10th Asian Women’s Softball Championship in Nantou, Taiwan.
The Blu Girls made mincemeat of the Singaporeans, 10-3, in just five innings in the upper half of the eight-team Page system.
Returning to the field barely an hour later, the Blu Girls fashioned out a 6-5 come-from-behind win over South Korea to reach the Final Four of the tournament which rewards the top three teams slots to the World Championship next year.
Next up for the Blu Girls is host Chinese Taipei, which eliminated North Korea with an emphatic 6-0 victory.
The winner of the Philippines-Chinese Taipei game advances into a playoff against second-seeded China for the right to forge a title showdown with defending champion Japan.
The Japanese earlier raised their unbeaten run to 7-0 with a 1-0 decision of the Chinese that rewarded them with the first title slot.
Blu Girls coach Ana Santiago said her wards have started to adjust to the international brand of play after a scrambling start that cost them losses to the two Koreas in the eliminations.
“Taiwan is strong. It’s No. 3 in Asia and among the top five in the world. It is also the host. But given the breaks, we have a chance,” Santiago added in Filipino.
The Blu Girls blasted two Singaporean hurlers with 14 hits, scoring three runs in the second inning before adding seven more for an abbreviated victory under the 10-run rule after the fifth frame.
Against the Koreans, the Blu Girls rallied from 0-5 after three innings with Julie Marie Muyco finally shutting down the opposition to one hit in a four-inning relief. The Filipinos erupted with three runs in the fourth and three more in the next two innings before Muyco preserved the win by retiring the side in the upper seventh.
Funded by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cebuana Lhuillier, the team is also supported by Pera Padala, Le Soleil de Boracay and Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions.
