Baseball
Hitting two home runs in the 10-6 win of his team the Chiba Lotte Marines beat the Saitama Seibu Lions. Despaigne, as DH, went 5 for 5 to raise his batting average to .263, the result of 25 hits in 95 at-bats, after 27 games in the main Japanese baseball circuit.
Besides the two homers, for a total of 6 on the season, the Caribbean slugger drove in 3 runs in the match and has already accumulated 19 RBIs, the second-most in his squad.
The Chiba Lotte Marines appears 4th in the Pacific League with negative record of 19 wins and 22 losses, behind Fukuoka (23-16), Hokkaido (25-18), and Saitama (23-18).
Meanwhile, Cuban Frederich Cepeda, in the second division with the Yomiuri Giants, has a batting average of .279 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs, and his compatriot Hector Mendoza has pitched over 5 and a 3rd innings with 8 strikeouts and only 2 hits allowed.
Despaigne, Cepeda and Mendoza are part of the Cuban baseball pre-selection and are eligible to join the national team that will participate in the Pan-American Games this July in the Canadian city of Toronto.
Football
The Cuban soccer team drew 0 to Curacao at the Ergilio Hato national stadium, in the 2nd round of CONCACAF, qualifying event for the World Cup Russia 2018.
Although it was a little action game by both teams, the athletes of Curacao had a clear mastery of the ball, supported by better offensive strategy that demanded constant alertness from the Cuban defense in general.
Vidarell Merencia, Endly Martina and Gianluca María highlighted by Curacao, while Hanier Dranguet, Alain Cervantes and Sandy Sánchez stood out for Cuban coach Raúl González Triana.
The next game will be this Sunday at Havana's Pedro Marrero stadium for which Curacao lost its skillful midfielder Rihairo Meulens, who plays for the Rapid Bucharest club, whom the referee gave a red card.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will include in its program of competitions male baseball and women's softball, excluded after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but returning for the great popularity they enjoy in Japan and the availability of facilities.
Other sports, such as karate and squash, also aspire to be included in the program. The final decision on the new disciplines will be made in August 2016.
Under the so-called Olympic Agenda 2020, a package of reforms of the International Olympic Committee approved in December, the host cities can propose to add 1 or 2 more sports for their games.
