The national men's softball team is looking for foreign pitchers who can help them prepare for the WBSC Men Softball World Cup from 24 November to 4 December in Auckland.
Blu Boys head coach Apol Rosales said they are looking for pitchers who can throw around 125 to 130 kilometers per hour for his wards to get used to competing against the best in the world.
The Filipinos will be making a return to the World Cup following a silver medal finish in the 11th Men Softball Asian Cup in Kochi, Japan last Monday.
Rosales vows to come up with a strong performance in the World Cup so they are leaving no stone unturned in coming up with a solid preparation.
"I'm hoping to get one or two foreign pitchers who can throw an average of 125 to 130 kph. We want to hit that kind of ball speed since we want to improve our hitting and defense," Rosario said in an interview.
"We're at par with Japan on defense. They only had the advantage on their hitting and pitching."
The road to the World Cup wasn't easy for the Blu Boys.
Despite a rocky start, the national batters pulled off an 8-1 victory over India in the final day of the super round to advance to the final.
The Philippines, however, bowed to the host country, 2-9, after yielding five runs in the first inning.
The Blu Boys could only score two runs in the second inning while the Japanese, whose national pastime include softball and baseball, kept piling on points — two in the third and one each in the fourth and sixth innings.
Rosario hopes that they will get enough support from the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines for their training and participation in the world's biggest and most prestigious softball event.
"When we qualified, the board members of ASAPHIL were always contacting me," he said.
"I think this is the perfect time for softball to rise up and consistently be one of the strong teams in Asia."
