FOR the Philippine Blu Girls to have a chance to compete against the best of the best in the WBSC 18th Women’s Softball World Cup in Italy in July, they must be given proper training and compete in more games.
“Kailangan naming ng exposure,” (We need exposure) said Philippine team captain Ann Antolihao during yesterday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission’s office in Malate, Manila.
“But we were told we will have a training camp somewhere,” she added.
Ms. Antolihao, who was accompanied by catcher Maria Celyn Ojare and outfielder Cristy Joy Roa during the weekly public series forum, and the Filipinas were coming off a World Cup spot-clinching performance in the Asia Cup in Incheon, South Korea where they finished fourth out of nine teams.
The Blu Girls will come in as the lowest ranked country in the bracket that they were in — Group C — as Asia Cup champion Japan is World No. 2, Canada No. 4, host Italy No. 8, Venezuela No. 22 and New Zealand No. 28.
But Ms. Roa said they are unfazed.
The other brackets are Group A composed of Chinese Taipei, United States, Great Britain, Australia and Africa’s No. 2 team and Group B comprising of China, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands and Africa’s No. 1 squad.
The World Cup should also help the Blu Girls warm up as they are also scheduled to plunge into action in the Hangzhou Asian Games slated Sept. 23 to Oct. 8. — Joey Villar
