THE Philippines settled for second place in the 11th Men Softball Asian Cup softball tournament, losing to Japan, 9-2, in six innings in the final held on Tuesday in Kochi, Japan.
The Blu Boys were overpowered by Asia powerhouse Japan in the final, but their second-place finish was enough to qualify for the WBSC World Cup to be played later this year in Auckland, New Zealand.
Confidence builder for Blu Boys
The Philippines also had the distinction of scoring the most runs against Japan in the entire tournament.
Head coach Apol Rosales expressed confidence about the team’s chances in the World Cup based on their performance in the Asian Cup.
“Japan is a world-class team ranked No. 2 in the world, and I am very happy with my team’s performance against them. We not only had two runs against Japan, but had six hits against them today. That is improvement for us,” said Rosales in an interview with asiasoftball.com.
“We need more exposure and in preparation for the World Cup where the level competition is going to be high. I will be proposing to my association for us to compete in higher level tournaments or go for a training stint and play friendlies with higher ranked teams before we go to New Zealand.
"We have a young but talented squad and I am aiming for a top six finish in the World Cup from 12 teams,” said Rosales.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
