PH bows to Canada in Women’s Softball World Cup

The Philippine women's softball team made a gallant stand but was still overwhelmed by Canada, 5-0, in group C action of the Women's Softball World Cup late Saturday, July 22 (Manila time) in Italy.

The Philippines, ranked 26th in the world, entered the tournament feeling motivated and confident but the 5th ranked Canadians proved too much for the Blu Girls to handle.

The Philippine Blu Girls take a team photo before the start of their game against Canada at the Women’s Softball World Cup in Italy. WBSC PHOTO

“Our opponents were indeed tough and proved to be better than us this time. But moving forward, the team has re-strategized and have learned from their mistakes which could hopefully help them bounce back against the remaining contenders,” said Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (Asaphil) president and benefactor Jean Henri Lhuillier.

The Blu Girls, however, remain upbeat with their chances to advance in the next round. They are slated to go up against No. 2 Japan, the reigning Asia Cup champion, at 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 23 (Manila time).

The other teams in group C are No. 8 Italy, No. 22 Venezuela and No. 29 New Zealand.

This is the seventh time that the Philippine Blu Girls are competing in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup. They recorded their best finish at third place in 1970.

In Group A held in Ireland, defending champion United States thrashed Great Britain, 7-0, in the final and Australia outplayed the same Great Britain team in the repechage, 4-1.

In Group B action in Spain, Puerto Rico beat China, 2-1, in the final before China lost the repechage game to the Netherlands, 2-0.