Cuba U-12 Team

Panama City, Oct 26 (PL) The Cuba U-12 team defeated the hosts Panama 5-1 today in a match played at the Rod Carew National Stadium and won the bronze medal in the Pan American Championship.

With a nine-strikeout attack and a four-run second inning, the team led by Professor Vladimir Vargas overcame their rivals and completed an excellent performance, in which, in addition to reaching the podium, they won one of the tickets to next year's World Cup in Taiwan.

Offensively, Humberto Alfonso (4-2) and Alan López (3-2) stood out, both with a pair of towers, and Alex Batista with a double that brought a teammate home.

Daibel Barrero, who hit a single and a double, earned the win from the mound by walking the entire route, where he allowed four hits and one run, gave up two tickets and struck out a couple of batters.

The loss went to Diego Camargo, who was unable to get past the second act and went to the dugout with five hits on his record, one of them foul.

The team from the largest Caribbean Island finished second in their qualifying group after defeating Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, and only lost one game on the day of their debut against the Dominican Republic.

The Quintana Roo players will be playing for the gold medal against the United States, who defeated Cuba in the semifinals.