Baseball
Matanzas left Villa Clara on the field by 2-1 thanks to timely and long homer of Eriel Sanchez, to add the 2nd win over the current monarchs in the semifinal playoffs of the 53rd Cuban Baseball Series in a cap held this Friday at the Victoria de Giron Stadium in Matanzas, fully packed with spectators.
The losers' offensive was led by Yeniet Pérez' solo homer and José Miguel Fernández single, but suffered from timely hitting and left 13 runners on bases.
By Villa Clara, Pérez Yosvani spread 3 hits in 4 innings of relief, while the defeat was to Alain Sanchez, who admitted 3 hits, including the decisive homer by designated batter Eriel Sanchez.
Victor Mesa used 6 pitchers including promising rookies and closer Felix Fuentes got the success by allowing only 3 hits in 3 ininings. This
bilateral series will be resumed on Sunday at the Augusto Cesar Sandino Stadium, in Santa Clara.
Meanwhile, Pinar del Río thrashed 10-2 to Industriales in their 1st bilateral stop of the playoffs with the 16th victory of right-handed pitcher Yosvani Torres and offensive highlight of William Saavedra, author of 2 homers and 4 RBIs and Giorvis Duvergel's hit and solo homer; Vicyohandri Odelín took the loss, and both teams will bump into again today Saturday.
Boxing
The quarter-finals of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) will begin this Saturday with 3 duels, after the unexpected postponement of the 4th match between Cuba's Los Domadores and USA Knockouts.
One of the most evenly matched which will hold in the Azerbaijani city of Guba between Azerbaijan's Baku Fires against Italy's Thunder.
Another well starring matched will be held in Moscow covering the teams of Russia vs. Ukraine's Otamans, while the current kings of the contest, the Kazakh's Astana Arlans, will face Germany in Halle.
Finally, Cuba and the United States, rescheduled for April 11th, probably will not occur in Miami but on April 4th in Havana, said the Cuban Boxing Federation to the WSB authorities after the drawbacks brought up in that city.
Chess
The Cuban GM Maritza Arribas did not pass to the 8th round after finishing tied and will not access to the only World Cup berth awarded by this Continental Chess Tournament for women that concludes today Saturday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Arribas (2313 Elo) agreed to peace with her local counterpart Claudia Amura (2305), in a duel that left them at 5.5 units per capita and located them in positions 4th and 3rd, respectively.
Maritza will say farewell of the lid as an opponent of the Brazilian International Master (IM), Vanessa Feliciano (2244), who exhibits 5 points and owns the 8th seat, as reported by the specialized site www.chess-results.com.
Argentina's IM Carolina Luján (2375) leads the event with 6.5 points after defeating her compatriot Ayelén MI Martinez (2109).
Badminton
The Cuban Osleni Guerrero beat the Dominican Alberto Raposo and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 15th International Tournament of Badminton Giraldilla de La Habana, where he will face Peruvian Andrés Corpancho.
Guerrero, 1st pre-clasified and champion defender of the Cuban contest, defeated Raposo by 21-7, 21-14 in the day's 2nd round.
The Cuban player, main racket of the Americas and placed 54th in the world ranking, will now face the Peruvian representative, seeded 8th for the event, who defeated the Mexican Andrés López by 21-18, 12-21 and 21-16.
Guerrero already beat Corpancho with partials of 21-17 and 21-19 in the quarterfinals of Peru's 18th Open International Tournament last year.
If Guerrero wins, he will face in the semifinals today Saturday morning the winner between American Bjorn Seguin and the Jamaican Gareth Henry.
The event will be held until Sunday 30th at the capital's Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum and on Saturday will cover the semi-finals in singles, doubles and the mixed categories.
Soccer
Cuba's national soccer team is in Spain to play 2 training matches, the Cuban Soccer Federation reported.
According to the note, the group of 18 players is composed of a mix of players from the major teams and the Under-21, and are being trained with a view to their participation in the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz.
The 1st commitment of the Caribbeans will be a game on the 29th against the national team of Indonesia in the city of Valencia.
Subsequently, the Cubans will play another match against the Elche club, the 1st division in the Spanish League, for which no date has yet been set.
The meetings in Spain should serve as important training for Cuban players for their international competitive calendar, with finding rivals so close to the World Cup, a very complicated and challenging task.
World Relief Championship as New Track and Field Event in Bahamas
The 1st World Relief Championship sponsored by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) will be held in Nassau, Bahamas, with the presence of 762 contestants from 48 nations, covering 99 male and 64 female teams in 5 events.
The events will include: Olympic 4x100 and 4x400 meters, besides 4x200, 4x800 and 4x1,500 meters, these three last ones as a special program for the occasion.
The event will be disputed at the Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, on May 24 and 25, and the IAAF will guarantee the tickets to the outdoor World Championship in Beijing, China, in 2015, for the 8 first places in each event.
