Many of the tournament's participants are shown during the awards ceremony. (Photo courtesy of ASAPHIL)

TOURNEY IN PHILIPPINES WITH EYE TOWARD NATIONAL TEAMS
2011-06-29

Potential new talents for the Blu Girls and Blu Boys national softball team were found with the successful conclusion of the 2011 Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (ASAPHIL)-Cebuana Lhuillier Summer Grandslam Softball Invitationals where Adamson University and MS Marikina ruled the women’s and men’s divisions, respectively.

“This is part of our grassroots development program for softball with the primary objective of providing a regular opportunity for softball players to play in an organized tournament every year, at the same time, it becomes a talent identification program as we try to discover new talents for both the men’s and women’s side who can actually make it to our national teams,” said ASAPHIL president and sportsman-businessman Jean Henri D. Lhuillier.

The games were held in the Wangal Sports Complex in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Adamson, Marikina victory

Adamson University ruled over the Manila selection team, 13-9, capturing the women’s division crown while M.S. Marikina topped the men’s division after beating Philippine Air Force in a 3-1 finale.

Veronica Belleza of Adamson was honored as MVP, leading the list of award winners for the women’s division. Other recipients were Rizza Bernardo of Manila (best pitcher), Annalee Benjamin of Adamson (best hitter), Luzviminda Embudo of Adamson (best slugger), Manila’s Marlyn Francisco (most RBIs), and Marissa dela Cruz of Adamson (most stolen bases).

For the men’s division, Marikina pitcher Leo Barredo was awarded MVP. Other honorees for the men’s division were Romeo Bumagat of Philippine Air Force (most RBIs and most home runs), Marikina’s Mark Rae Ramirez (best slugger), and Jake IIlao (most stolen bases).

Benguet praises high-level competition

Local officials of Benguet, who welcomed the players from all over the country, praised the invitationals for giving local athletes the opportunity to play in high-level competitions.

“The province of Benguet welcomes all the athletes and officials joining this tournament. It is great opportunity indeed for local players to see action in this high-level competition and we hope to see them becoming Blu Boys and Blu Girls in the future” said Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan.

ASAPHIL president lauds successful staging of games

ASAPHIL president Jean Henri Lhuillier lauded the organizers and the provincial government of Benguet for the successful staging of the event.

“We are certainly happy at the turnout and outcome of this event, a lot of provincial and local teams participated and our national coaching staff should be able to identify some talents we can bring to the training pool of ASAPHIL,” said Lhuillier.