JAKARTA -- Still unbeaten in the 2018 Asian Games, the Philippine softball team vows to give their very best in an attempt to make it to the podium for the first time in the continental showcase.
“We got the games and reps in during the World Championships, which is helping us now,” said team captain and catcher Cheska Altomonte.
“But we still aren’t satisfied -- we are going all out in our next games,” she vowed.
The Philippines placed 13th in the 2018 Softball World Championship in Japan earlier this month, which saw the United States win gold to earn a spot in the 2020 Olympics. The host country settled for the silver.
The experience that the Blu Girls gained in the World Championships is now serving them well in Jakarta, as they have won their first three games starting with an 8-0 triumph over Hong Kong. They then beat Korea, 5-3, on Monday afternoon before edging China, 1-0, on Monday night.
They have another tough assignment on Tuesday as they take on Japan, which had beaten them, 7-0, in the finals of the Asian Championships last year.
Altomonte is optimistic that they can gain their revenge. “We don’t just want to duplicate our effort in the Asian Championships, but surpass it,” she said.
Wednesday will see the Blu Girls take on hosts Indonesia at 12:30 p.m., then rivals Chinese-Taipei at 8 p.m.
“We want to beat China and Chinese-Taipei in the preliminaries,” Altomonte had said prior to their contest against China that brought them one step closer to their goal.
The top four teams at the end of the round will advance to a page system semifinal to determine the protagonists for the bronze medal. The losers will then square off for the bronze.
The Blu Girls have never reached the podium in the Asiad. The highest they reached was fourth in Incheon in 2014.
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