Hong Kong Allies Took Home Second Place Honor in Phoenix Cup 2014

Yokoi Mitsuharu, Head Coach of the victorious Osaka University of Health and Sports Sciences, voiced his great pleasure in seeing his team taking home this year’s Phoenix Cup crown. “I am very satisfied with the team’s overall performance,” the Japanese Head Coach said. “Our starting pitcher in the final game (Morikawa Mei) pitched very well and the team responded accordingly.”

Morikawa Mei, who was named as the Best Pitcher in the Phoenix Cup, was delighted with her performance in the Phoenix Cup finale. “I need to thank my defense for helping me throughout the game,” said the 3rd year student pitcher. “I am very surprised to receive the Best Pitcher award for the tournament but this will motivate me to do better in future competitions.”

Sasaki Ayano, Captain of the Osaka University of Health and Sports Sciences, also felt great satisfaction with the team’s victory. “I think our team performed a great deal of our potential and put on a decent showing in the tournament,” said the well-rounded first baseman. “I am very happy to see baseball being played in different parts of the world and thoroughly enjoyed using this tournament to communicate with baseball lovers from all parts of Asia.”

Hong Kong Allies, who defeated Far East Bloomers from Japan to book their ticket for the final, was completely shutdown by Osaka University of Health and Sports Sciences in the championship game. Head Coach Au Wing-Leung believed his side could have done better in the finale. “We were okay defensively for the final game but offensively, we could have done more,” said the Hong Kong Allies tactician. “We came here aiming to get into the semi-final and we pushed ourselves to the final. In that sense, the girls have already exceeded our original target.”

Pitcher Lau Tsz-chin, who started for Hong Kong Allies in the championship game, hopes the team can use the Phoenix Cup as a motivation for the upcoming Women’s Baseball World Cup in September. “We will definitely try to use this as a learning experience to prepare for the upcoming Women’s Baseball World Cup in September, trying our outmost to seek our first win in the World Cup tournament.”

Official rankings of the Phoenix Cup 2014 is listed in the below:

1st – Osaka University of Health and Sports Sciences (Japan); 2nd – Hong Kong Allies (Hong Kong); 3rd – Team Australia (Australia); 4th – Far East Bloomers (Japan); 5th Guri-City NineVics (Korea); 6th Taipei Vanguards (Taiwan); 7th Hong Kong Development Team (Hong Kong); 8th Singapore Panthers (Singapore)


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