CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, Apr 13 (acn) Despite losing in the Grand Final against the Ciego de Ávila Tigers, the Isla de la Juventud Pirates wrote one of the most epic and memorable pages of Cuban baseball in recent decades.
Guided by Coach José Luis Rodríguez Pantoja, the Pirates showed endless combativeness to keep out of the playoffs two giants as Pinar del Río and Industriales, and then they appealed to their warrior lineage in the semifinals to defeat Matanzas, leader of the regular season.
The illustrious veteran Michel Enriquez, one of the survivors of that generation of outstanding players who finished third in the 1998-1999 season, said the emotions lived in the Grand Final against Ciego de Ávila is almost comparable to having conquered the title of champion.
In turn, the experienced first baseman Luis Felipe Rivera praised the fighting spirit of the new generation of players, alongside the decisive contribution of athletes from other provinces who proudly defended the uniform of Isla de la Juventud.
After many obstacles we reached the championship finals and we realized we had chances of winning the crown, but Ciego de Avila played better than us and deserved the victory, Rivera said.
Though we could not reach the title, we will celebrate in style this silver medal which is our best result and commits us to continue in active sport and achieve a good result in the next campaign, he added
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With the absence in play-offs of the called Big Four of Cuban baseball -Pinar del Río, Industriales, Santiago de Cuba and Villa Clara, many predicted an unattractive baseball postseason.
However, the Pirates stole the limelight and managed to save the show by becoming a very tough rival of the Ciego de Avila Tigers that should used their fullest potential to return to the throne of Cuban baseball tournament.
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