Baseball
Supported by an offensive of 13 hits, Yosvani Torres, the most successful pitcher of the Season, improved from a shaky start to carry Pinar del Rio to win 7-4 over Industriales in the 5th game of the semifinal of 53rd National Baseball Championship.

Torres filed his 17th success of the campaign to spread 7 hits and 3 cleans in 7 innings, while lefty Julio Alfredo Martínez took the rescue with solid relay of 2 innings and only conceded 1 unstoppable.

Shortstop David Castillo led the victors' attack with 4-2, 1 double and 3 RBIs, seconded by designated batter Yosvani Peraza with 2 trailers, while Stayler Hernández hit 4-2 and drove in 3 runs for the defeated.

Industriales now commands the play off semi-final with 3 and 2, but Pinar will have the advantage of being the host at the Capitán San Luis Stadium from this Friday, where it expects to reverse the situation and moves on to discuss the title against Matanzas.

Meanwhile, Industriales seeks to access to the Grand Final for the 3rd time in the last 5 Seasons, while Pinar del Rio won in 2011.

And concerning the passion of Cubans, Las Tunas' 1st baseman Juan Carlos Pedroso and Cienfuegos' pitcher Norberto González were officially announced as reinforcements of Danesi Caffè Nettuno, also known as Nettuno 2, two-time champion of the 2nd Division of the Italian Baseball League.

According to Mister Baseball (www.mister-baseball.com) website, which specializes in information relating to baseball and softball in Europe, the club made official these contracts and completed its staff ahead of the imminent start of the domestic Season.

The 2D League is the 2nd Italian League Baseball Championship since 2010, when it replaced the missing A2 Series and is now composed of 8 teams, all branches of the first sets playing within the Italian League. The Nettuno 2, representative of one of the most traditional cities in Italy's baseball, became champion at the premiere of the 2D League in 2010 and repeated the title in 2012.

Boxing

Three Cuban boxers are training today in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia to participate at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championship Sofia 2014, Cuban Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Alain Limonta (60 kg), Javier Ibáñez (56) and Yordán Hernández (91) travelled to Europe and will start fighting for a medal next April 10th.

Two years ago, Cuba achieved the 3rd place by nations with 2 crowns and a bronze medal, but then it depended on competitors in all divisions.

Sources from the Organizing Committee announced the presence of 506 boxers from 103 nations in the men's sector and more than 100 in women's, who will compete in 3 divisions to debut in the next Youth Olympic Games.

For this event, scheduled for August in the Chinese city of Nanjing, the first 5 males of each weight will obtain places, and the 4 medalists of the girls, competing in 51, 60 and 75 kilos.

Taekwondo

World champions Glehnis Hernandez and Rafael Alba, from Cuba, won their respective 73 and 87 kilogram divisions at the event continuing in Santo Domingo, to qualify taekwondo competitors for the Central American and Caribbean Games, Prensa Latina news agency reported.

That multi-sport event will be held in Veracruz, Mexico, from November 14 to 30 where 160 representatives of the discipline will compete.

Hernandez left the silver for the host Katherine Rodriguez while bronzes went to Costa Rican Mercedes Gutierrez and Colombian Sandra Julieth Vanegas.

Meanwhile, Alba surpassed Jamaican Craig Brown in the final, and Dominican Derlin Reyes and Stuart Smith of Aruba finished 3rd.

Cuba also added the crowns of Yamicel Nuñez and Nidia Muñoz, 53 and 62 kilogram categories, respectively, with Yosmailys Ferrer (46) in 2nd place.

In this last division, the Venezuelan Virginia Dellan ascended to the top of the awards podium at the Volleyball Pavilion in the Olympic Center, venue of the tournament, where 144 tickets to the next Central American Games, Veracruz 2014 are being contested.

Ferrer's immediate followers were the local Mayelín Reyes and Colombian Lizeth Avella while behind Nuñez were the Dominican Disnancy Polanco, in 2nd place, and Guatemalan Estefanie Pedroza and Panamanian Natalia Stanziola in 3rd.

Venezuelan Adanys Cordero was beaten in the battle for gold against Muñoz, while Colombian Yudy Pérez and Yohaira Diaz, from the host country, finished with bronze medals.

In the 54, 63 and 74 kg divisions for men, Duván Avella, Luis Pie, and Javier Medina, from Colombia, Dominican Republic and Venezuela, respectively, remained unbeaten.

Their victims in the last contest were the Dominican Eduardo Espinosa, the Venezuelan Gustavo Machado, and the Cuban José Ángel Cobas.

Bronze medals went to Costa Rican Pablo Solano and Panamanian Luis Gaitán, the Cuban Ernesto Lloren, Honduran Mauricio Borjas, Colombian José Miguel Estupiñán, and Dominican Ruddy Emmanuel Mateo.

Cuban Sports Performance in 2013 Analized in Forum

“We have a committed, dedicated and willing to change for the better as necessary human capital,” said Olga Lidia Tapia, member of the Secretariat of the Cuban PCC in the last National Institute Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER by its Spanish acronym) 2013 review session.

The Party member stressed that the combination of efficiency and effectiveness can provide better results despite the threats, risks and constraints the organization faces, the on-line edition of the Jit sports publication said.

She advocated for a lacking in schemes link with the base, without commands and control methods, in search of a more active contribution of everyone involved in each of the processes needed to sustain and multiply what this sector has so far achieved.

We must achieve a real participation, she stated as culmination of the meeting, chaired by Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Vice President of Cuba.

Gathered at Havana's Cojimar Convention Center, executives of all Cuban provinces and the central structure agreed to consider essential the true roles assigned to sports centers and physical education classes.

In this regard, Gladys Becquer, INDER vice president, insisted that both scenarios should be confirmed as irreplaceable values forging and spaces to detect and subsequently train students with perspectives.

She praised the methodological preparation rigor required by physical education teachers and their relationships with other teachers and their good performance in territories such as Villa Clara and Granma.

Jit also notes that the exchange also addressed various facets of Sport for All Program, the commitment to uphold the prestige of Cuba in the international arena in a year in which the Central American and Caribbean Games will take place, and the better prepared teachers training as well.

Christian Jimenez, INDER's president, assessed the exchange as positive and said that the prevailing challenges in times of a changing international scenario and marked by the permanent subversive interest of the enemy, demand unity from the base.

The goal is to match up to the commitment and effort of our champions; he sentenced to highlight the mission of responding to the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution and the Objectives of the Conference of the Party.