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Okinawa, February 9 (JIT) - A spacious indoor area adjacent to the Cellular Stadium hosted today the first training here of the bulk of the Cuban team for the V World Baseball Classic.

With catcher Andrys Perez celebrating his 22nd birthday, the day began with the congratulations of his teammates, a gesture that did not fail to thrill the talented captain of the national under-23 team.   

"I never imagined celebrating a birthday in Japan, much less as part of Team Cuba. It is a day in which I also fulfill the dream of seeing myself on a stage like this, on my way to an event of such a high level," he emphasized.

Moments later, the athletes rigorously warmed up, to then distribute themselves in the various stations to carry out the tasks coordinated by manager Armando Johnson and his collaborators.

For a little more than two hours, the effort was marked by joy, with experienced and less international figures fused in an atmosphere of cohesion that facilitated the work of the specialists.   

"The objective of this period is to give continuity to what was achieved in Havana, where we carried out the analysis of capabilities and diagnostics to project the work," explained coach Humberto Guevara.

After recalling that the two games held at the Latin American Stadium made it possible to examine actions of interest for the management team, he predicted a good end to the training.

"The games planned for the stays in Japan and Taiwan will allow us to add up a good number of innings in order to mesh the group work of the team, while we comply with the necessary adaptation to the time difference," he added.