The men's water polo team of Cuba commenced its participation in the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo with a resounding victory, though there were warning signs that the coaching staff did not overlook: 23-13 against Guatemala in the debut, held on Monday at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.
The broad result does not accurately reflect what occurred in the water during the four periods of the match.
In the second quarter, Cuba experienced a collective blackout: offensive inaccuracies and failures in defensive transitions allowed Guatemala to overcome a three-goal deficit and head into halftime with a lead over the Caribbean team.
The coach Mario Andrés Bermúdez raised the alarm after that segment of the match. "Errors of that magnitude can be irreversible against stronger teams," the technician, originally from Caibarién, Villa Clara, warned JIT.
The reaction in the second half, however, was what the team needed to demonstrate.
Cuba regained intensity, quickened 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 main 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 stated goal by Bermúdez for these Games is "to be among the medalists," a goal that gains significance when recalling that Cuba reached the final of San Salvador 2023, where they fell to Puerto Rico by 9-8 and took home the silver.
Mexico, the next opponent of the Cubans, is precisely the team that won the bronze medal in that same edition, defeating Venezuela 11-9 in the third-place match.
The match against the Mexicans will be, according to the analysis from the coaching staff, the first real test of the tournament for a team that arrived in Santo Domingo with limited prior international competition: just the qualifying tournament in Cali, Colombia, held in April, where Cuba defeated Guatemala in penalties (4-2) after a 12-12 draw.
Cuba participates in these Games with more than 500 athletes in 42 disciplines, the largest delegation in its recent history, aiming to place among the top three in the overall medal tally.
Men's water polo is one of the disciplines where the island hopes to improve its outcome, but for that, as noted by the source that covered the debut, "it will need to maintain its best level throughout the four periods of each match."
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