This is the Cuban team we all want to see, which, like these U-15 Chamaquilis, showed their sporting qualities. What she showed on the field was all the passion and love that we Cubans have for baseball. They are runners-up today and that’s no consolation, they could have been champions because they played like winners. Such a team does not lose even if the final result is not in their favour.
The top two teams from the World Cup were vying for the crown, and with this time the difference between the two teams from Cuba and the USA not being as great as last Saturday’s game, the race for the gold medal became the biggest challenge of the tournament.
Each team scored six hits, neither team made mistakes. Five extra base hits went into the results list, two of them to the winners, a home run and a triple, and three to the Cubans.
On the pitch in the Mexican city of Hermosillo, a whole gallery of talent could be seen, because not only the opponent, whose quality and skills on the field are undisputed, showed a real treasure trove of talent, they could also be found among the Cuban players .
To see kids under 15 batting the US boys’ balls and knowing that the hardest thing in baseball is batting or hitting shots of 90 miles per hour or more, which is almost out of this world for this age group. But that’s exactly what Alexander Urquiola’s team deserves, because they rose to the challenge and went out to hit the balls and they hit it.
The Chamaquilis brought that passion back to Cuba, that pride in not feeling like a loser at any point in the game. You brought us back to a baseball that never gives up.
We already know their names: Roberto Peña, Alejandro Prieto, Alejandro Cruz, Segian Pérez, Yaider Ruiz, Maikol Daniel, Pedro Danguillecourt or Robier Hernández, Daniel Reyes and Mailon Batista. She and her teammates emulated the Cuban side, who never gave up on the field even when they were behind. Welcome runners-up, you are the champions of the hearts of Cuba.
