Defending champion Tanauan begins its quest for a back-to-back crown when the 2018 Philippine Junior Women’s (18-under) Softball Championship opens on Dec. 15 at the Sto. Niño Softball Field in Marikina City, where softball remains a very popular event.
Blu Girls’ pitcher and arguably the best female pitcher in the sport today, Royevel Palma, is expected to lead the Tanauan team.
A few months ago, Tanauan shocked a local team in the United States to win a girls’ 16-under championship, with Palma leading the team to victory.
The weeklong softball tournament, supported by Cebuana Lhuillier, drew a total of 20 teams from all over the Philippines and is part of the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines’ program in women’s softball, where the Philippines has been dominating in this part of the world, winning numerous Southeast Asian Games titles.
ASAPHIL will also use this event as basis in selecting the members of the Philippine junior women’s (19-under) softball team for the next edition of the world women’s junior championship.
“We have shown that in women’s softball, we can compete at the world level, but for us to maintain this, we should have a good grassroots’ program to ensure a base of future national players. This U-18 tournament for women serves the purpose as we discover new and promising talents every year from this event. Palma is a very good example,” said ASAPHIL President and sportsman-businessman Jean Henri Lhuillier.
The finals will be held on Saturday at the same venue.
