‘Little more push’: Blu Girls proud of Softball World Cup stint

MANILA, Philippines – There’s nothing but gratitude – and a lot of learnings – even as the Philippine Blu Girls recently fell short in their bid in the 17th WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup.

“On being able to banner the Filipina athlete in the world stage, it’s an honor, it makes me happy because we get to show what the Filipina athlete can do,” said Blu Girls team captain Francesca Altomonte, noting that their young team has a “lot of potential.” 

The Philippines finished fourth in its bracket in the world tourney after a a 2-4 win-loss card.

Co-host Italy dealt the Philippines a 6-5 defeat in the third-place match in Group C, ending the Blu Girls’ hopes of making it to the final round in 2024.

The Blu Girls failed to overtake the one-run lead by Italy that would have sent them to the repechage match, after CJ Roa was struck out by the pitcher.

The loss came after the Philippines scored consecutive victories in the tilt, stunning the Italians, 6-5, and New Zealand, 5-3, to advance to the playoffs.

But that victory over the Italians generated a lot of online buzz, doubling up on the Philippine women’s football team’s first FIFA World Cup victory against co-host New Zealand a few hours prior.

It more than made up for the Blu Girls’ rough start when they opened their campaign with losses against Canada, Japan, and Venezuela.

“We’ve reached rank 11 previously, and we’re now 26th because of the pandemic and we haven’t been able to compete in international tournaments,” said Altomonte.

“But I think Philippine softball has a lot of potential, and a lot of potential for Filipina athletes to be really, really good at.”

Main takeaway

The current batch of Blu Girls, composed mostly of players in their mid-20s, look poised to make waves in the coming years because, as Altomonte noted, most softball players reach their peak in their late 20s to mid-30s.

“Main takeaway from the team is that a lot of work needs to be done, I think it’s a pretty young team,” said Altomonte, who has been representing the Philippines since graduating from Ateneo in 2013.

“A lot of new players, a lot of players that don’t have much exposure in international tournaments,” she added.

“We need, I think, a little more push on that end. I think the program is going well considering again, this is a new team.”

Up next for the Philippines is the Asian Games, where the team finished fourth in the last two editions.

A longtime recognized threat in the sport, the Blu Girls had their best finish in the World Cup when they copped bronze in the 1970 edition.

In the Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines nabbed gold in all 10 times the sport was held, with the latest in 2019, which was hosted in Clark, Pampanga.

Play more to win more

Altomonte admitted that the core members of the program do not get much needed games for experience, that is why the team needs to secure the commitment of Filipino-Americans.

With the diamond sports a national pastime in the United States, they naturally have more opportunities to play and sharpen their skills.

Per Altomonte, who is also the secretary general of the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines, Fil-Am batters play about 60 games in the summer, compared to the local core which only play around a maximum of about 15 games in the UAAP.

Also important is the formation of a grassroots program that would develop and identify talent.

“It’s important that the homegrown talent get much more exposure to international play but, yeah I think that’s what we need to focus more on,” said Altomonte. – Rappler.com