CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines earned qualification to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s U-15 Softball Cup following a third place finish in the recent U-15 Women’s Softball Asia Cup in Puli, Taiwan.
A 10-0 win over South Korea after four innings in a match for a place on the podium enabled the U-15 Blu Girls to become the third Asian team to secure a spot in the World Cup slated this October.
Two slots were actually given to Asia, but Japan, which gained an automatic place in the world competition by virtue of being the host, reached the final against eventual winner Chinese-Taipei.
Chinese-Taipei got the other U-15 World Cup seat for also reaching the championship game.
The U-15 squad is the third Philippine softball team to gain a World Cup slot this year, following the lead of the Blu Girls and the co-ed team made up of men’s and women’s players.
The Young Blu Girls went 3-2 during the classification round to secure a place in the bronze medal game against South Korea.
Shortstop Cristine Angel Calaguas and third baseman Erickca Gonzales were among those feted for their splendid play in the Asian tilt.
Calaguas was named as one of the “Future Stars of Each Team” while Gonzales was hailed as the best third baseman.