The Blu Girls made mincemeat of the Singaporeans, 10-3, in a shortened five-inning contest in the upper-half of the eight-team, page system, then returned to the field barely an hour later to fashion out a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over elimination round tormentor South Korea.
That moved the Filipinas into the last four of the tournament which offers three slots to the World Championship next year.
The Blu Girls next battle host Chinese Taipei, a 6-0 victor over North Korea, with the winner assuring itself of the bronze medal and a chance in the gold medal play.
The winner of the Philippines-Chinese Taipei match advances into a playoff against second seed China for the right to face defending champion Japan, which is waiting with a perfect 7-0 win-loss slate, including a 1-0 win over China.
“Gumaganda na ang laro, medyo nagkakaroon na ng feel sa international brand of play which our girls lacked in the onset of the tournament where we should have won at least two our lost games in the elimination round,” coach Ana Santiago said after the Filipinas’ nerve-wracking twin kill.
“Malakas ang Taiwan, No. 3 ’yan sa Asia at nasa top 5 ranking sa world. Isa pa, host sila, pero given the breaks, may pag-asa tayo sa at least third place to be able to earn the trip to the World Championship,” she added.
The Filipinas wound up with an even 3-3 card in the seven-team Pool A of the elimination, losing to Japan, South Korea and North Korea.
They won over Hong Kong, Iraq and Thailand to make it to the quarterfinal round, along with the Japanese and the two Koreas in their group and the Chinese, Taiwanese, Singaporeans and Indonesians in Pool B.
Veronica Belleza twirled a no-hit, no-run two-inning relief job, while her teammates pelted two Singaporean hurlers with 14 hits, settling the issue right at the bottom of the second where they scored three runs on four hits.
The Blu Girls didn’t stop there, connecting six more times in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth that produced seven more markers.
Julie Marie Muyco took the mound against the South Koreans, who beat the Blu Girls, 7-2 in the qualifying stage.
The younger sister of former No. 1 Filipina hurler Cloiene Muyco starved the opposition with a mere hit in four innings.
Muyco, only 20, had the Southerners in the palm of her hands, striking out four of the 12 batters she faced.
A single by Jocel Aguilar leading off the bottom of the fourth awakened her teammates, who crossed the plate three times on a walk, a triple by Alex Zuluaga and a double by pinch hitter Annalie Benjamin.
Three more runs on four hits in the next two frames gave the Filipinas the lead for good, 6-5, as Muyco ended the Koreans hopes by retiring the side in order.
The Blu Girls are backed by the Philippine Sportrs Commission, Cebuana Lhuillier, Pera Padala, Le Soleil de Boracay and Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions.
