Baseball

Matanzas took revenge with a 5-3 victory over Villa Clara at the 53rd Cuban Baseball Series to regain the solo lead with 37 successes and 22 failures, where reliever Maikel Martínez scored his 5th win by allowing only 3 hits and 1 clean in 3 entries, while Juan Carlos Viera reached 12 saves and left-handed pitcher Robelio Carillo took the loss.

Lázaro Herrera led the winning drive with three trailers, while 3rd baseman Yeniet Perez gave homer by the defeated team, which left 12 runners in circulation. So, Villa Clara, with 36 and 23, fell to the 2nd seat, a half-game ahead of Pinar del Río (35-23), which suspended its Sunday meeting with Artemisa (31-27) and will have double play today.

The other result, the battered line-up of Santiago de Cuba, came back from their slumber, beating for the 2nd consecutive time its fiercest rival, Industriales, this time 8-1.

Designated batter Hector Olivera homered and drove in 3 to lead the winning drive, while international Danny Betancourt took the victory by spreading 6 hits and 1 clean in 7 episodes. Despite these results, Santiago de Cuba continues to occupy the last seat with 27-32, and with almost no options to make the playoffs.

Cycling

The 3rd stage of the 1st International Camagüey-Havana Cycling Classic will run today from the Gallo de Morón monument to the Ciego de Avila Hotel comprising eight stages, closing on February 22nd in Havana and including 90 riders, including representatives of Panama and Peru.

Ciego de Ávila outs today with Victor Orta's shirt leader, who won the 110 km. from the city of Camagüey on Sunday.

Héctor Ruiz, national discipline commissioner told the local press that this event will help in the technical preparation for upcoming engagements, including the Central American Games in Veracruz.

Boxing

The current defending World Boxing Series champion team, the Astana Arlans of Kasajastan, will arrive today, Monday, to Havana to meet next Friday at Havana's Sports Coliseum City to Los Domadores of Cuba, in the next to the last week of competition.

The Eurasians are second in Group B table with 19 points, product of 6 wins and 2 losses, while Cubans lead undefeated with 21 units with 7 wins, 31 matches won and just 4 lost.

Visitors present 3 World Series debutants and 2 other experienced fighters in these lids, represented by Azamat Izakullov, 21 years old, in the 49 kg., who will top against local Yosvani Veitia, and experienced Bagdad Alimbekov faces Marcos Fortestal in the 56.

Meanwhile, in 64 kilos, the Cuban Olympic and world medalist, Yasniel Toledo, rivals newcomer Ruslan Madiev, 21 years old, while locals Ramón Luis Nicolas, of 75 kg., faces Yerik Alzhanov, and Erislandi Savón, 1st of ranking in his class with 597 units, will bump into the rookie Arbek Abduganiev, in that order.

Triathlon

Cuba will participate in the Under-23 Triathlon Pan-American Cup, which will host next Sunday the city of Mendoza, Argentina, with one woman.

Havana’s Leslie Amat Alvarez will be Cuba's representative and will try to reach points to ascend positions in the continental ranking, Aurelio Romero, national commissioner of discipline, told to JIT digital sport magazine.

The federative added that Amat should earn points, which will be cumulative towards the classification to the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, next November, as well as for the continental event in Toronto 2015, and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.

Romero also said that it is unlikely the young Cuban athlete wins a medal in this event, but it is also expected a good result, given her current good shape.

So far, competitors from over 22 countries have confirmed their attendance, including Mexicans Crisanto Grajales, Irving Perez, Claudia Rivas and Paola Diaz, and Argentinian Romina Palacios.

World Indoor Athletics

The National Athletic Commission recently revealed the names of the six Cuban athletes to represent the country in the upcoming World Indoor Championship.

According to a press release, pole vaulter Yarisley Silva, triple jumpers Pedro Pablo Pichardo, Ernesto Revé and Yarianna Martínez, and short hurdlers Ernesto Martinez Yordán O'Farrill and Jhoanis Portilla, will represent Cuba in Sopot, Poland from March 7th-9th.

It is valued the addition to the list of other athletes, depending on their performance and if they get the minimum marks required by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF for its acronym in English).

Overcome these requirements it could be added pole vaulter Lázaro Borges, long jumper Junior Diaz, and length triple jumper Dailenys Alcántara, which would bring up the group to 7, the figure originally planned.

Borges will need to exceed 5.75 meters, a record that misses as the IAAF lists, since 2011, complicated if it is considered that he has gotten 5.50 meters as his best performance so far this season.

Meanwhile, Junior got a mark of 8.10 meters, but competitors must exceed 8.16 if they want to attend the Polish contest.

The triple jumper Alcantara has 14.12 meters as her best result in 2014, achieved in late January, but will have to get upper registers (14.30 minimum) to qualify for the World Cup.