Baseball
Four Cuban baseball players will play this Season in the Canadian Independent League Baseball (Can-Am), including Yunieski Gourriel, who repeated with The Capitals of Quebec.
Besides Yunieski, shortstop Yordán Manduley, outfielder Alexei Bell, and pitcher Ismel Jiménez were also hired, published the website of Radio Angulo, in the eastern province of Holguin.
Although Radio Angulo station did not say the hiring clubs involved, it is expected to be with The Capitals, the same team with which Yunieski Gourriel played last year, brilliantly averaging 321 on offensive. The four contracted players to play in Canada had outstanding performances in the recently concluded 54th National Baseball Series.
In 2015, four other Cuban players: Frederich Cepeda, Hector Mendoza, Lourdes Gourriel jr, and Alfredo Despaigne will play in the Japanese Baseball League.
Besides Canada and Japan, professional clubs in Nicaragua, Mexico, Venezuela, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Europe were interested in hiring Cuban players, according to the Cuban Amateur Baseball Federation (FCBA).
Boxing
With the presence of 9 fighters included among the 100 Best Cuban Athletes in the 20th century, the 3rd Teofilo Stevenson Boxing Cup In Memoriam was inaugurated last night in Las Tunas city and will conclude on April 17th.
The Leonardo McKenzie Grant Sports complex, the scenario where in July 1988 Stevenson said goodbye to his fans, hosted sports glories as Dr. Alcides Sagarra, founder of the Cuban School of Boxing, the Olympic champions Felix Savón, Armandito Martinez, José Gómez and Jorge Hernández, as well as 6 boxing world monarchs.
In the first bouts of the day, at 56 kilograms, Matanzas' Iván Martínez defeated Las Tunas' Yaimel Heredia; another host, Javier Alarcón, beat his compatriot Miguel Rodríguez, while in 60 kg, Holguin's Darel Martínez won 3-0 over David Serra, from Guantanamo.
The first fight in the 75 kg ended in victory for Carlos Banteur (SC) over Magdiel Vazquez (LT), and also in that division, Darian Gutiérrez (SS), Ihosvani García (SC), Yoanki Urrutia (LT), Omar Capote (Gra), Hugo Noriega (VC), Keuri Velázquez (Gtmo) and Maikel Romero (LH) defeated Nelson Pérez (CA), Yasel Mestre (VC), Lázaro Gómez (May), Luis Cruzada (Holg), Osmay Bencomo (PR), Fernando Cabreras (Cfgos) and Kelvis Morales (VC), respectively.
In other results, Julian Yurizán (LT) beat Pablo Santiesteban (Gra), and Andi Carrión (SC), Alex Estrada (SS), Héctor Boloy (Gtmo) and Ihosvani Duvergel (Gtmo) did the same against Junie Serrano (Hol), Darien Guerrero (SS), Luis M. Leen (LT) and Carlos Pérez (Holg), in that order.
The tournament will continue tomorrow in the same place and in the course of the week there will be actions in the municipalities of Jobabo, Majibacoa and Puerto Padre, and in the town of Delicias, where Teofilo Stevenson was born on March 29th, 1952.
Cuba Will Hold Rescue and Search Drill in Havana
The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces issued a press release published by Granma newspaper to inform the public that in the morning on April 15th and 16th, search and rescue exercises at sea, at 1 nautical mile from north coast, facing the Morro-Cabaña military complex, in the municipality of La Habana del Este in the province of Havana, will take place.
Aerial, naval, and terrestrial means from the local Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of Interior will participate in such exercise.