The team that will represent Cuba in the Little League Baseball World Series was flagged off this afternoon at the Latin American Stadium, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella.
Perdomo Di-Lella handed the banner to Alfredo Despaigne Rivero, son of the outstanding baseball player Alfredo Despaigne, escorted by Luis Enrique Gourriel Delgado and Jeison Arturo Durruti.
The athletic oath was read by Jesús Ortega Massip, who reiterated the team's commitment to reach a medal and defend the Revolution from the playing field itself.
"The preparation has been good. We have practiced rolling pitching, batting behind the runner and to the opposite side. Pitching is very good, it is our main weapon," Ortega commented to Cubadebate.
The central words of the event were pronounced by Gisleidis Sosa Cabrera, director of International Relations of Inder, who expressed the confidence of the Cuban people in the Bayamese team and highlighted the training done and the winning spirit demonstrated in the Cuban championship of the category.
"The Little League World Series is present in 80 countries, but only 11 reached this edition. Cuba is part of it, that speaks of the greatness of our children," he said.
The lid will take place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States, from August 16 to 27.
Also present at the ceremony were the president of Inder, Osvaldo Vento Montiller; Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, president of the Cuban Baseball Federation and national commissioner; Rodolfo Puente, glory of Cuban sports, and directors of Minrex, the Government of Havana and Inder.
The closing of the flag ceremony was in charge of the children's choir Caminito de Santiago, from the Santiago de las Vegas culture house, who sang Venga la esperanza, by singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez.
In March, the Bayamo team won the III National Little League Baseball Championship and, with it, the ticket to the World Series of the category.
Vladimir Vargas' disciples defeated their rivals from East Havana six runs to two in extrainning in the final played at the Manuel Alarcón Reyna baseball field of the Jesús Menéndez sports complex in Bayamo, Granma.
Vladimir Vargas: We will go game by game
In a conversation with Cubadebate, team manager Vladimir Varga Valdés assured that the national team is in a good moment. "Our goal is to transit game by game and go forward to reach the different phases and thus obtain a good result.
"The maximum strength is the pitching, although we have power hitters on offense, and the defense is quite accurate."
He emphasized that since the preparation began, in September 2022, they worked on tactical thinking, the relationships between the team and "that way we were achieving team work".
Regarding the competitive system, he pointed out that the debut will be against Japan, at five o'clock in the afternoon. "The winner will face Tijuana (Mexico). We have already studied Japan, we have seen their videos, how they play and, based on that, we have made adjustments. We plan to put on a good show and even win.
"If we lose, we would have to wait for Australia's result against Curacao. But we have faith in the victory, he concluded."