Blu Girls reign supreme, claim 11th consecutive SEA Games gold

The Philippines has once again asserted itself as Southeast Asia’s premier nation on the diamond.

The RP Blu Girls erupted with a big sixth inning to overpower an error-prone Singapore, securing a 4-1 victory and successfully defending their gold medal in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games softball tournament on Friday at Queen Sirikit Stadium in Thailand.

With this win, the Philippines reaffirmed its dominance in regional baseball and softball, completing a sweep of men’s baseball, men’s softball, and women’s softball — just as they did a decade ago.

This triumph, which completed the tournament sweep, further cemented the Blu Girls’ legacy as the only nation to have ever won gold in SEA Games women’s softball history. The victory also marks their 11th consecutive title.

Singapore struck first in the second inning, as Shanice Lim’s run-batted-in (RBI) single scored Cacia Tan to put the visitors ahead 1-0.

But that would be Singapore’s only offense. Filipina pitcher Kikay Palma rebounded brilliantly, allowing just two hits the rest of the game in a dominant no-relief performance.

The Blu Girls responded in the third inning when Alyssa Daniell’s single to left field drove in MJ Libaton from first base, tying the game 1-1 after Singapore’s leftfielder Chua Si Ning mishandled the ball.

The decisive sixth-inning rally was sparked by more Singaporean errors. Nicole Hammoude reached second after a misplayed pop-up by shortstop Cacia Tan, and Alaiza Talisik followed on another miscue by the same infielder.

Charlotte Sales then hit a grounder past Tan that gave the Blu Girls a 2-1 lead. Backstop Angelu Gabriel sealed the rally with a two-RBI double to deep center, driving in Talisik and Sales to extend the lead to 4-1.

Palma, a University of Santo Tomas standout, pitched all seven innings, allowing only four hits, striking out 10 batters, and issuing no walks.

Earlier, host nation Thailand claimed the bronze medal with a narrow 1-0 victory over Indonesia.