(Press Release; WBSC AMERICAS
BASEBALL).- The first Baseball5 Pan American Championship,
a qualifier for the World Cup of the category that takes place in Barquisimeto,
Venezuela, started with the world champions undefeated.
Thursday started with a grand
opening and a level of competition worthy of a tournament of this category and
a spectacle on par with a World Cup Qualifier event.
The Cuban team debuted at the
Bolivarian Dome of Barquisimeto in Lara, beating the Mexican team in two sets
by scores of 14 to 4 and 3 to 0 respectively.
In the third match of the day,
the Cubans maintained their undefeated record by also beating the hosts
Venezuela in two sets with partial sets of 4 to 2 and 1 to 0.
Venezuela had previously
defeated Puerto Rico in its opening game in two sets with scores of 12 to 3 and
4 to 2, to level its record at 1-1 on this first day of competition.
Puerto Rico also leveled its
record in the tournament by beating Mexico in the last game of the day by sets
of 7 to 6 and 10 to 5, to tie with Venezuela for second place in the table.
Another day of four matches is expected on Friday, at 4pm local time in Venezuela, Cuba will face Puerto Rico, at 5pm the hosts clash against Mexico, at 7:30pm the Mexicans return to the field against Cuba and close in the 8:30pm game Venezuela against Puerto Rico.
(Media Management – Guillermo Yáber Llanos)