Blu Boys earn World meet berth

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Blu Boys booked a trip to next year’s world softball championship after assuring themselves of a Top 3 finish in the 14th Asian’s Men’s Softball Championship yesterday at Kallang Softball Diamond Stadium in Singapore.

The Blu Boys took care of business by disposing of the host Singaporeans in the Page System semifinal match for the third and fourth-ranked squads, 5-2.

The victory sent the Pinoy clouters into the world tilt in Canada, along with top seed and defending champion Japan and No. 2 ranked Indonesia.

Japan flexed enough muscle in beating Indonesia in the other Page System semis encounter, 4-0, to grab the first finals berth in the Asian tourney.

By hurdling the hosts in the semis, the Blu Boys moved up to a battle with Indonesia for the right to face the Japanese in the championship match slated Saturday.

The Pinoy clouters will be looking to avenge their shock 8-9 setback to the Indons in the elims as they try to live up to their tradition of being the protagonist of the powerhouse Japanese in Continental play.

The Blu Boys finished the elims with a 3-2 card after mangling Brunei, 9-1, Thursday night as they bounced back from consecutive losses to Indonesia and Japan (0-15) following a 2-0 start in the six-nation meet.