The Blu Boys came out fighting in their third match, this time against Cuba in the World Baseball and Softball Confederation Men’s Softball World Cup but fell short anew and lost, 1-3.
Holding their own in the first two innings, the Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Boys allowed Cuban Yesander Rodriguez to score a home run in the third inning that sparked the offense for Cuba as it was followed by another run by Anibal Vaillant.
The Blu Boys kept the match close when Julius Diaz scored in the fifth inning for the team’s very first run in the tournament, featuring 24 qualifiers from different regions.
Rodriguez finished off the Blu Boys in the sixth inning with his second run, handing the Filipinos’ third defeat in as many games, after losing, 0-1, to the Americans, and faltering to defending champion Argentina, 0-6.
“Despite the losses, we take pride in the performance of our team in these close games, considering we are the lowest-ranked at 21st in the field. We have not lost hope that they can still score a victory in their last two games against New Zealand and the Czech Republic,” said ASAPHIL President Jean Henri Lhuillier, who has been closely following the games.
Blu Boys’ coach Jasper Cabrera also praised the team’s stand. “We were much better today than yesterday, but we were not hitting the balls. Our main weapon here is speed. but we need to hit the ball for us to use our speed.”