Cocodrilos to maintain hegemony over Leñadores in Cuban Baseball

Matanzas, July 19 (PL) - After the conclusion of the quarterfinals of the 62nd edition of the National Baseball Series, everything is ready for the semifinal stage in which the Cocodrilos will seek to maintain their hegemony over Leñadores.

The semifinals will begin this Thursday with the match between Cocodrilos de Matanzas and Leñadores de las Tunas.

The Matanzas team under the direction of Armando Ferrer eliminated Leñadores de las Tunas in the last three consecutive seasons in decisive instances, since during the 59 and 60 series they won in the semifinals with overall results of 3×1 and 4×2 while in the 61 series the result was 4×1 but this time in the quarterfinals.

In those seasons, the team led by mentor Pablo Civil always won the first particular duel but saw how the Cocodrilos came back with a strong offense that again stands as a possible protagonist of the playoffs.

The Yumurina team, with several absences compared to previous seasons but still with a solid team, will face the semifinal against a team that led the regular stage and swept the Tigres de Ciego de Avila 4×0 in their quarterfinal duel with Abeysi Pantoja as the new helmsman of the eastern ship.

Since the beginning of the season, the Yumurino strategist Ferrer declared the ninth's pretensions to win the national crown, an objective reaffirmed after beating Artemisa 4×1 and which they will try to achieve against a rival that for many specialists is one of the favorites for the gold, just like the Cocodrilos.

Meanwhile, after having failed to win a direct crossover match for 11 years, the Industriales Leones will face the Avispas de Santiago de Cuba in the other semifinal duel in a match that recalls the so-called classic of Cuban baseball between two greats of the national pastime that seek a title that has eluded them both for more than a decade.