Baseball: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico in U23 World Cup debut

Havana, September 21 (ACN) - The Cuban under 23 baseball team will debut against its similar Puerto Rican team in group B, in the World Cup to be held in Taipei, China, from October 13 to 23 with the participation of 12 teams.

This match between Cubans and Puerto Ricans, to be played on October 14, will be held at the Tianmu Stadium. The B key also includes teams from Australia, South Korea, Mexico and the Netherlands, while the A key includes Taipei from China, Colombia, Germany, Japan, South Africa and Venezuela.

The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) and the host Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) announced today that the teams from China and Nicaragua could not confirm their participation in the tournament due to their COVID-19 national restrictions and have been replaced by Puerto Rico and Colombia, respectively.

According to the tournament format, the top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Round, while the other six will compete in the Placement Round. Then, the top two finishers from the Super Round will compete for the U-23 world title, while the third and fourth place teams will compete for the bronze medal.

That Super Round is scheduled for October 20, 21 and 22, while the medal games will be held on Sunday, October 23.

These days, the Cuban pre-selection is training at the Latin American Stadium with the presence of Japanese scouts.

The fast left-hander Naykel Cruz from Matanzas recently arrived from Mexico, while on Tuesday it was announced the departure of Eyner Fernandez, also from Guantanamo, who needs surgery.