After opening the tournament with back-to-back victories on Sunday, the Philippine team suffered twin losses on Monday at the 12th Men's Softball Asia Cup in Kochi, Japan.
The Blu Boys started the day with a 5-9 setback against Singapore and then bowed to eight-time defending champion Japan, 0-7, in the afternoon.
"While it was, undoubtedly, a challenging turn of events for us and the team, we remain hopeful and are now more determined than ever to bounce back from these setbacks and secure victories in our upcoming matches," said Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (Asaphil) president Jean Henri Lhuillier.
The Filipinos faltered right from the start against the Singaporeans who posted a 7-0 lead in the first inning. The Philippines answered with four runs in the second inning but Singapore scored two more runs in the third and gave up one more run in the sixth to secure the victory and a place in the finals.
"We just gave away seven runs in the first inning because of poor pitching. Leo Barredo is an experienced pitcher, but he was not well since arriving three days ago. But he recovered and we fielded him," said Blu Boys coach Jasper Cabrera, who sent in Melvin De Castro to replace Barredo in the third inning..
Unbeaten Japan, which fielded its under-23 team in the tournament, proved too strong for the Blu Boys who failed to score against the host country.
Japan finished the game with 14 hits and no errors, while the Philippines had three hits and one error.
The Philippines' string of nine straight Asia Cup finals appearances also ended on Monday but will still have a chance to claim a World Cup berth if it wins the bronze medal on Wednesday.
"At this stage, our priority is that we qualify for the World Cup which means at worst we have to win the bronze. At least there are three slots available now as compared to two last year," said Cabrera.
Japan (4-0) and Singapore (3-1) have already secured slots to the World Cup for reaching the Asia Cup final.
The Philippines, which scored victories against India and Chinese-Taipei on Sunday, will close its elimination round schedule against Hong Kong on Tuesday.
The Philippines captured its third and last Asian title in 1990 but made the finals eight straight times since then. For eight consecutive finals, however, the Blu Boys bowed to the Japanese.
The Philippine team is composed of Barredo, John Israel Antonio, Jerome Bacarisas, Denmark Bathan, Melvin De Castro, Lyonas De Leon, Juliuz Dela Cruz, Mark Janzen Gaspi, Francis Generoso, John Norwen Lucas, Efril Ian Mercado, Micheal Pagkaliwagan, Reagan Parco, Gerone Riparir, Justine John Rosales, and Kenneth Torres with Cabrera and Isidro Abella as coaches.
Blu Boys fail to make finals but can still earn World Cup berth - The Manila Times
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