Co-Ed Slow Pitch Softball Asia Cup (DAY 2) – 25th May, 2023 – Thursday
CHINESE TAIPEI, PHILIPPINES ON TRACK TO FINAL
WINLESS THAILAND AND SINGAPORE, HAVE NOT LOST HOPE FOR WORLD CUP BERTH
Pictures by Krittayad Janasawad
Host Thailand lost their second consecutive match this morning when they went down to Chinese Taipei 17-10, but still have hopes to finish third in the inaugural Co-Ed Slow Pitch Softball Asia Cup at the Siam Polo Club ground in Pattaya, Thailand and qualify for the World Cup in Mexico.
Thailand on the opening day on Wednesday, lost to China 4-10 and their remaining matches tomorrow are against Singapore and Philippines.
Thailand head coach Puwwanai Chaichompo, who is also the secretary general of Softball Association of Thailand (SAT), confidently said that it was their target to qualify for the World Cup as host and boldly predicted that they will qualify.
“We may have lost our first two matches, but we believe tomorrow will be our day and looking forward to beat Singapore and even Philippines, who have emerged as top contenders with Chinese Taipei,” said Chaichompo.
“In fact, we were looking forward do going well in our opening game against China yesterday, but players played nervously.
“Today against Chinese Taipei, who are definitely the other favourites, we picked up late in the game and take consolation that we gave them some anxious moments in the end, despite going down 10-17.
“We will certainly be at our best against Singapore and Philippines,” declared Chaichompo, whose team has been in training in Bangkok for this tournament.
Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, said they were confident of finishing tops after the first round fixtures.
“We came here to win the title and we are on track,” said Chinese Taipei coach Tang Cheng-Hao.
Chinese Taipei chalked their second consecutive win this morning beating host Thailand after their opening game victory over Singapore 12-5.
And after keeping their unbeaten record intact when they defeated Philippines 12-8 in the afternoon, they are indeed on track.
Chinese Taipei’s final group match tomorrow is against China.
Singapore just like Thailand, who are win less after three and two matches respectively, when they went down to China 17-8 today, are equally confident that they will beat Thailand in their final Group match tomorrow morning to play in the third placing match against China.
“When we came here, we knew we were not in the same league as Philippines, Chinese Taipei and China and knew we had to square off with host Thailand for the fourth spot for a third placing match,” said Singapore’s head coach Alvin Jun Cheng.
“In the three matches we played, we were not up to the mark against Philippines (5-12) but did well enough against against Chinese Taipei (5-12) and our loss against China just now, where we performed well in the start and end, despite our 8-17 loss. Overall I am happy with the performance of the team so far, despite the three losses.
“We will be better prepared when we expect to play China in the third placing match and beat them.”
But before that, it will be battle royale between host Thailand and Singapore in the first match of the day tomorrow morning which all eyes will be on, for the winner will finish fourth in the five nation competition and earn to play in the third placing match.
However, Thailand have another fixture to complete their round robin fixtures when they play Philippines in the afternoon.
With both Thailand and Singapore confident of victories, an interesting do-or-die match is on the cards.
Philippines, who went down to Chinese Taipei in the final match, look all set for a repeat clash in the final, to avenge their defeat.
However, the fact that they may miss their key player, Dino Emiglio Giuseppe Altomonte – who suffered a hamstring pull – against Chinese Taipei today, could have a telling effect on the team.
Before the 25-year-old former baseball player hobbled out, he had hit his third consecutive home run in as many matches.
While Chinese Taipei and Philippines look set to play in the final, and host Thailand and Singapore hog the limelight to finish fourth, China look set to finish third and play in the third placing match
The top three teams qualify for the inaugural Slow Pitch Softball World Cup in Mexico at the end of the year.
RESULTS (DAY 1)
China 6 Philippines 7
Singapore 5 Chinese Taipei 12
Thailand 4 China 10
Philippines 15 Singapore 7
TODAY’S RESULTS (DAY 2)
Chinese Taipei 17 Thailand 10
China 17 Singapore 8
Philippines 8 Chinese Taipei 12
DAY 3 (Friday) fixtures
Thailand v Singapore 9.00am
China v Chinese Taipei 11.00am
Philippines Thailand 1.30pm
DAY 4 (Saturday) fixtures
Bronze medal – Preliminary Round 3rd placed v Preliminary Round 4th placed – 9.00am
Gold Medal – PR 1 V PR 2
(All Thai time)
