THE Philippine women’s baseball team qualified for the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup for the first time in 2020 but was not able to play because the event was called off by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year, the Philippines will finally have its chance to show its wares at the World Cup after the team was granted a wildcard entry.
In recognition of the Philippine women’s baseball program’s upward trajectory, the Filipina batters were granted entry in the group stage of the World Cup slated from Aug. 23 to 27.
The Philippines is pooled in Group Tainan in Taiwan.
National team assistant coach Jennifer Singh said that the Filipina batters are out to prove they belong among the world’s best as they try to make the top three of the group stage to advance to the World Cup finale next year in Rockford, Illinois.
“The whole team, PABA (Philippine Amateur Baseball Association) and PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) are very happy. Since 2019, this has been our goal — to qualify for the World Cup. We were not able to continue in 2020 because of the pandemic,” said Singh in an interview with The Manila Times.
“We did not expect that we would be given the chance to make it to the World Cup. So, this is an opportunity we really will not waste. We will give our best.”
As a player, Singh was part of that 2019 national team that qualified for the World Cup by finishing third in the Asian Cup.
The former University of the East standout recalled how the Filipina batters were dejected after the 2020 World Cup was canceled.
“We have been preparing for this for several years. In 2023, we lost to Korea in the Asia Cup, which served as the World Cup qualifier,” said Singh.
“Then in 2025, we had some visa problems with our players. When we faced Korea again, only nine players arrived on the day of the Korea-Philippines game. We fell short there.”
Those setbacks, however, are now behind her as she looks to help the national team in a coaching capacity.
Singh said the team, made up of UAAP standouts and veteran players, is determined to prove it deserves a place in the World Cup.
“From the moment we received the invitation that we were chosen as the wildcard team, we became committed. We are focused on discipline, working hard in training and improving the way our players perform,” said Singh.
“We are not focused on how we earned our spot in the World Cup. What matters to us is how we will carry the name of the Philippines. We want to show the country and the whole world that the Philippine women’s baseball team has the ability to compete against the best of the world. We hope that through our performance in the World Cup, more Filipinos will support baseball and that the sport will continue to grow in our country.”
The Philippines, ranked 21st in the world, is pooled with No. 5 Venezuela, No. 7 Cuba, No. 15 Great Britain, No. 6 Taiwan and No. 1 Japan, which it will face to open its campaign on Aug. 23.
After Japan, the Philippines face Cuba, Taiwan, Great Britain and Venezuela in that order.
“Japan is a team we have already faced three times from 2019 to 2025. We can say that they are really a strong team, but our team will still fight,” said Singh.
“In fact, during our last game against Japan in 2023 when I was still a player, we played against Japan and we lost at 7-1. Among all the teams that Japan faced, though, we were the only ones who were able to complete seven innings. We were not subjected to the mercy rule.”
