The Philippines engaged Chinese Taipei in a tight battle for five innings before losing to its Asian rival in the USA Softball International Cup on Friday at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia, USA.
The game was tied at 1-all in the bottom of the fifth when Chia-Yi Chen singled on a 1-0 count, scoring two runs for Chinese Taipei en route to a 5-1 victory.
Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines president and Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, however, remains confident that the Blu Girls will continue to improve and learn valuable lessons in matches like this and in a tournament featuring some of the world’s best women’s softball teams.
“It may be a bitter pill to swallow if we look at the results but we will always remain focused on the objective of being here.” Lhuillier said. “We want to get better and we can only achieve that if we play against better teams. We will look at how the Blu Girls perform here and make necessary adjustments so we can have a better chance in the qualifying tournament for next year’s Olympic Games.”
Chinese Taipei fired up the offense in the first inning, when Szu-Shih Li singled on a 1-1 count, scoring one run.
The Cebuana-Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls tied the game in the top of the second inning when Ma. Angelou Gabriel doubled on a 1-1 count.
The Philippines’ final assignment in the tournament is against Peru on Saturday.
