Blu Boys back in Asian tilt

ARMED with a deep pool of pitchers, the Philippine men’s team leaves for Japan tomorrow to compete in the Asian softball championship slated Oct. 25 to 28 in Miimi City in Okayama.

The 21-man squad that swept the men’s softball title in the Southeast Asian Games last year is seeded second behind the host and defending champion Japanese in the tournament that rewards the top three finishers with slots to the 2013 World championship in New Zealand in March.

The Blu Boys, who have won the regional championship three times in the 1960s, placed second to Japan in their last stint in the Asian tourney in 2006.

“It’s going to be tough beating Japan but it’s not impossible,” said Amateur Softball Association-Philippines operations manager Jun Veloso during the Scoop sa Kamayan Forum on Friday. “We were able to beat Japan in the preliminaries but we end up losing in the crucial stages.”

Also seeing action are Indonesia, India, Singapore and Hong Kong.

With all teams playing double-headers everyday, Veloso said the Blu Boys have an edge in having a deep pool of pitchers made up of Leo Barredo, Zamboangueño Florante Acuna, Philippine Army’s Rogelio Rojas, Philippine Navy’s Gregorio Marquez and Marlon Pagkaliwagan.

Barredo pitched the Blu Boys to a 10th place finish in the 2009 Worlds in Saskatoon, Canada where he was also ranked the 10th best hurler. He and Pagkaliwagan came from powerhouse Rizal Technological University.

Also in the roster are veterans Dario Bacarisas, Oscar Bradshaw, Ben Maraviles, Orlando Binarao, Jasper Cabrera, Jerome Bacarisas, Michael Pagkaliwagan, Apolonio Rosales, Isidro Abello, Edmer del Socorro and Anthony Santos.

Robert Iturralde is the national head coach. Marc Anthony Reyes