Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines president Jean Henri Lhuillier expressed his confidence in the PH Blu Girls’ chances of landing the top 3 in the upcoming Women’s Softball Asia Cup and qualifying for the World Women’s Softball Championships.
“The girls are preparing for this competition. I’m confident we will be fighting it out for a podium finish and qualify for the World Cup. We at ASAPHIL together with the coaching staff are leaving no stone unturned in the girls’ preparations in our quest for Asian supremacy,” said Lhuillier.
The Blu Girls, the perennial Southeast Asian Games gold medalists, have been in deep training for the past months already. Their preparations are a notch higher with twice-a-day practice sessions, consisting of drills, strategies, workouts and actual games, three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon.
The girls are scheduled to compete in the Women’s Softball Asia Cup on April 2 to 8 in South Korea to fight for one of the World Cup slots, where the world’s best teams are competing.
“Our training has been going well and I can say we have a strong and cohesive team. We have good pitchers and our batting has been improving. Hopefully, these translate to great actual games and wins for the team,” said head coach Randy Dizer.
The Blu Girls’ mentor is banking on top pitcher Ann Antolihao, as well as left-field veteran player Arianne Vallestero to lead the Blu Girls’ charge. He also listed up-and-coming players Angelu Gabriel (shortstop) and MJ Maguad (2nd base) as the other players to watch out for and are expected to contribute to the team’s campaign.
Perennial championship contender Japan, as well as other powerhouse teams in China, Korea and Chinese Taipei, are expected to crowd Blu Girls for the top 3 finish and the much-coveted World Cup slots.