The Philippine Blu Girls pulled off an impressive come-from-behind win at the 2026 WBSC Women's Softball World Cup in Lima, Peru. Screenshot from WBSC on YouTube
MANILA — The Blu Girls believe they achieved something bigger than wins at the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Group Lima last month.
The Philippine Women's Softball Team ranked fifth in Group Lima of the World Cup, finishing with a 2-3 win-loss record in the group stage.
Blu Girls team captain Charlotte Sales said she is grateful they were able to put up a good performance, after getting a wildcard to compete in the World Cup.
"So yung naging performance namin, overall, masaya din talaga kami. Hindi lang talaga namin nakuha yung pinaka-goal, which is pumasok kami dapat sa top four, pero at least nakita din naman ang lahat kung paano nag-pursugi yung team," Sales told ABS-CBN News in an interview on Friday.
"And ayun nga, natalo din namin yung World Number Three, which is Puerto Rico. ... And nakita din ang lahat na talagan ginigay ng Blu Girls lahat and talagang nag-perform din kami sa pinaka-best namin," she added.
The Philippines' campaign was highlighted by an upset win over No. 3 Puerto Rico, despite falling to defending champions and No. 1 Japan, No. 12 Great Britain, and Venezuela.
READ: Blu Girls finish fifth in 2026 WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Group Lima
Blu Girls assistant coach Anthony Santos said he is proud of the team's performance, which is a result of their hard work and ample preparation time, including a training camp in Japan.
The Blu Girls ranked No. 13 in the latest world rankings heading into the World Cup.
Despite being up against top-ranked teams in the world, Sales made sure to remind the Blu Girls to stay locked in and focus on their own performance.
"So, kada kalaban namin, hindi namin iniisip na, ito World Number One to, ito World Number Three," she explained.
Joy Alpitche, one of the newer and younger faces in the Blu Girls, said she relished the opportunity to be able to play on one of the biggest stages.
"Nung nagkalaban kami nung Japan, doon talaga ako na ano, kasi na-hold ko yung Japan every inning po. So, sobrang saya ko po bilang pitcher po na baguhan," Alpitche said.
More than the wins, the Blu Girls brought home invaluable experience and lessons from the World Cup that they can bring to their future tournaments.
Sales said the experience exposed the team to tough situations which build character.
"Talagang pinakita ng buong team yung puso namin sa laro na talagang pinakita namin sa lahat ng tao na ipapanalo namin ito kahit anong mangyari. Kahit nandun na kami sa baba, malaki yung score, ganyan," she shared.
"Pero alam ko at alam ng team kung ano yung goal namin, which is manalo kami. So I think ayun yung naging factor kung bakit kami nanalo nung Puerto Rico. Kasi talagang nag-all out lahat," Sales pointed out.
Glory Alonzo shared this sentiment, saying the Filipino trait of being 'palaban' and their 'puso' was on display especially in the upset win over World No. 3 Puerto Rico.
"Dagdag ko yung mental toughness ng bawat isa. At yung fighting spirit. Kasi nandun na eh. Even though na nasa lowest kami, nakuha namin mag-comeback during that situation. So yung mental namin, masyado siyang nandoon.Present siya. Hindi kami nawala," she explained.
"Hindi kami nawalan ng pag-asa na ay wala na to. So nandun din yung eagerness ng puso namin na manalo. Yung grit namin nandoon. Kailangan naming manalo even na parang hindi na, imposible na, parang ganun. So yun nga yung fighting spirit ng bawat isa, ng team, tsaka siguro yung samahan at tiwala sa teammate," Alonzo added.
The Blu Girls are composed of homegrown and overseas based players, but despite these differences they felt united on the pitch.
Roma Cruz highlighted the camaraderie the team built heading into the World Cup, something she believes helped them perform their best.
"Naging inspiration po namin yung bawat isa na magtulungan. Yung teamwork namin naging maayos. At yun, puso talaga," Cruz said.
Alpitche said being able to compete in the World Cup is a huge confidence boost for a young pitcher like her, since she got to face some of the best in the world.
"Yun po ang pinakamalaking bagay na na-experience ko po para sa akin kasi World Cup eh. So, yun nga po. Yun po ang the biggest. world na laro, na nasalihan ko po," Alpitche said.
"Siguro ano [yung] pusong palaban kami at yung in-enjoy namin yung game, every game namin, in-enjoy namin yung every inning po," she added.
The Blu Girls' best finish in the 1970 ISF Women's World Championship was third in 1970. The team is hopeful they can carry the momentum from their recent campaign in the following years.
For now, the Blu Girls are grateful for the outpouring of support especially on social media. They believe this can help boost interest and investment for grassroots development.
"Siyempre as an athlete, masaya ka pag nararamdaman mo na may mga taong sumusuporta sa'yo eh. Kasi minsan, pag down na down ka na, kailangan mo ng ibang tao para malaman mo na may say-say ka pa din, na may ginagawa ka pa din. So ayun, happy kami and thankful kami sa lahat ng sumusuporta," Sales said.
"Malaking bagay yun kasi ang dami ng mga grassroots players ngayon na nagbo-boom and nagsosoftball. Kasi before, hindi masyadong kilala yung softball. And ngayon, happy kami na madaming mga bata na nagsisimula and gustong maglaro ng softball kasi kailangan din natin talaga yun. Kasi kami, mga tumatanda na rin kami. So after namin, mas maganda yung may mga bagong generation na papasok," she added.
Up next for the Blu Girls is the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in September.