AFTER a nightmarish start, the Philippine Blu Girls are back in the hunt for a breakthrough Asian Games medal.
From excruciating defeats at the hands of powerhouse Japan and Chinese Taipei, the Filipinas came roaring back with two straight victories including Tuesday’s 7-0 demolition of the Thais, their Southeast Asian Games rivals, that resuscitated their historic medal bid at the Anjo Softball grounds in Aichi, Japan.
From a gritty 7-3 win over South Korea on Monday, the Philippines was a lot more determined on this one as they finished off Thailand with this five-set, run-ahead victory to jump to fourth spot with an even 2-2 record.
“This is the kind of response we wanted to see from our Blu Girls,” said Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines President Jean Henri Lhuillier. “The first two games were difficult, but they stayed together, trusted each other, and continued to fight.”
“We’re proud of the way they bounced back, and we know they will continue to give everything for the Philippines,” he added.
Mary Joy Laurente, MJ Alpitche and Sydney Vitangcol presided over the carnage by holding the Thais to just two hits and a run-less outing while heavy-handed Charlotte Sales belted another home run to help the Blu Girls secure the win.
The Nationals hope to sustain the momentum and keep their place in the magic four as they battle the Singaporeans on Wednesday, the fancied Chinese on Thursday and the Hong Kong team on Friday for a shot at a medal.
The top two finishers after the round-robin elimination round battle for gold while the third and fourth nations will collide for the bronze.
And the Filipinas hope they’re one of them.
A bronze, of course, will be the country’s best finish in the sport in this quadrennial meet after three straight fourth-place finishes in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea, 2018 in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia and 2022 in Hangzhou, China. —Joey Villar