The Philippine women’s softball team closed its campaign in the WBSC Softball Asia/Oceania Qualifier with back-to-back setbacks at the Shanghai Chongming Sports Training Center in China, but staked its claim as a Top 4 softball-palying nation this part of the globe.
The Blu Girls, ranked 13th in the world, bowed to No. 7 Australia on Friday and to No. 6 Chinese Taipei on Saturday.
The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls finished the tournament at fourth place, but failed in their bid to claim a berth to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which will go to either Australia or No. 8 China. who will meet in the finals.
Still, Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines president Jean Henri Lhuillier is confident the team will continue to improve as he promised to start preparing for the coming Southeast Asian Games the country is hosting from November 30 to December 11.
“The team worked very hard to get to this qualifying tournament and a top four finish is still an impressive feat,” said Lhuillier, who is also President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.
“This setback will allow us to pinpoint our weaknesses which we will address. Definitely, you’ll see a much stronger Blu Girls in the SEA Games,” he added.
Five of the six spots for the Tokyo Olympics had already been filled up by USA, Italy, Mexico, Canada and host Japan.