THE Philippines and Chinese Taipei slug it out in one of the top matches kicking off the seventh Asian Junior (19-and-under) Women’s Softball Championship today (Sunday, May 13) at The Villages Softball Field in Clark, Pampanga.
Seven of the region’s top junior softball squads are competing in the week-long event with the hosts also set to mix it up with the Thais later in the day. Also in the fold are South Korea, India, Malaysia and powerhouse Japan.
The country is hosting the event for the first time under the leadership of Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (AsaPhil) headed by president and long-time sports patron Jean Henri Lhuillier.
Fancied Japan will play against Malaysia and Korea in other opening matches of the event organized by AsaPhil for the Softball Confederation of Asia and the World Baseball and Softball Confederation and backed by the Cebuana Lhuillier Sports, the Philippine Sports Commission, the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“The country’s has earned the respect of the other Asian countries for our strong showing in the sport in various fronts, so I expect the Jr Blu Girls to dish out their best against the best in the region,” said Lhuillier, referring to the Blu Girls’ back-to-back victories in 2017, a silver medal in the 11th Asian Women’s Softball Championship in Taiwan, and the Blu Boys’ silver medal feat in the 10th Asian Men’s Softball Championship in Indonesia.