By MARK REY MONTEJO
The Philippine women’s lacrosse team showed flashes of brilliances early on before absorbing a crushing 13-4 defeat to Japan in the semis of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Lacrosse Championship at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Queensland, Australia on Friday, Jan. 10.
The Nationals started hot, scoring two quick goals – which both notched in less than a minute – through the efforts of Ria Lagmadeo and Steph Lazo to take a 2-1 lead in the opening quarter.
Proving they are the world’s No. 5, the Japanese recovered quickly and seized a 5-3 lead at the break which proved enough to take the fight out of the Nationnals and advance to the finals against Australia.
Though losing to Japan, the mission is not yet over for the Philippines as the Nationals battles the Taiwanese for the bronze on Saturday, Jan. 11.
For the main event, Japan challenges fellow unscathed and No. 4 host Australia, which rolled past Taipei (24-3) in the other semis pairing.
No matter what the outcome is, the Philippines already made a history after securing a ticket in the 2026 World Championship in Tokyo, Japan.
There, the Nationals will be vying against the top guns that include nthe United States, Canada, and England.
That historic achievement came from the Nationals’ dominant wins in their first two matches against No. 19 China (15-3) and No. 16 Hong Kong (14-2). Their hot streak was spoiled no thanks to a 14-5 drubbing by the hometown bets Aussies.
