The Cuban men's water polo team started its participation in the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo with a resounding victory, although there were warning signs that the coaching staff did not overlook: 23-13 against Guatemala in their debut, which took place on Monday at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.
The overall result does not accurately reflect what happened in the water during the four periods of the match.
In the second quarter, Cuba experienced a collective blackout: offensive inaccuracies and defensive transition failures allowed Guatemala to overcome a three-goal deficit and head into halftime with a lead over the Cubans.
The coach Mario Andrés Bermúdez himself raised the alarm after that segment of the match. "Errors of that magnitude can be irreversible against stronger teams," the coach warned to the official sports newspaper JIT.
The reaction in the second half was, however, what the team needed to demonstrate.
Cuba regained intensity, ramped up the pace, and unleashed the speed and power of its attackers to clearly dominate the last two periods and turn the scare into a rout.
The key offensive players were Pedro Ponsa and Remis de Armas, both from Cienfuegos, who together scored a total of nine goals.
Ponsa has accumulated experience in leagues in Brazil and Italy and has been part of the national team since 2015; De Armas is known for his explosiveness and effectiveness in counterattacks.
The declared goal by Bermúdez for these Games is "to be among the medalists," a goal that becomes significant when remembering that Cuba reached the final in San Salvador 2023, where they fell to Puerto Rico 9-8 and secured the silver.
Mexico, the upcoming opponent of the Cubans, is precisely the team that won the bronze in that same edition by defeating Venezuela 11-9 in the match for third place.
The match against the Mexicans, this Tuesday night, will be, according to the analysis of the coaching staff, the first real test of the tournament for a team that arrived in Santo Domingo with little prior international experience: just the qualifying event in Cali, Colombia, held in April, where the Cuban team overcame Guatemala in penalties (4-2) after a 12-12 tie.
Cuba participates in these Central American Games with over 500 athletes in 42 disciplines, the largest delegation in its recent history, aiming to finish among the top three in the overall medal standings.
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