Cuban team departs for Asian tour ahead of WBC

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 17 (acn) The Cuban team that will participate in the 4th World Baseball Classic (WBC) next March, departs for Asia today, where it will play 11 training matches.

According to the planned program, Cubans will be from February 19 to 24 in Chinese Taipei, and then they will go to South Korea until the 28, where they will play three other matches.
On March 1st they will arrive in Japan to face teams from the Professional League of that country (NPB).
The Cuban team received the flag they will defend in the WBC, scheduled from March 6 to 22, with stages in cities of Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the United States.
Cuba´s group in the WBC, to take place in the Japanese capital at the Tokyo Dome, also includes Australia, China and the local side.
Carlos Martí, Cuba´s manager, has reiterated that his goal is to advance to the second stage, and once there, fight to reach semifinals.
Cuba´s best performance on WBC was achieved in the first edition where it ranked second, because in the second and third contests it finished sixth and fifth, respectively.
Japan accumulates two crowns, achieved in the first and second events, with wins over Cuba (10-6) and South Korea (5-3), in that order, while the Dominican Republic beat 3-0 Puerto Rico in the final of the 3rd WBC.