The Cuban baseball team completed a preliminary phase without losses on Monday in the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 and qualified for the super round with high hopes of winning the gold medal, as reported by the agency Prensa Latina from the Dominican capital.
The team led by Germán Mesa —a legendary shortstop from the golden era of Cuban baseball— defeated Curaçao (4-1), Puerto Rico (4-0), and the Dominican Republic (9-6) to complete the qualifying round with three victories in three games.
The most demanding victory came against the host team, in a stadium Quisqueya Juan Marichal filled with local fans, in a match that was decided under the tiebreak rule thanks to timely hits from the Cuban batters.
One of the main players in the preliminary phase was the starter Yoel Yanqui, a 30-year-old left-handed player making his debut in this competition and holding the third spot in the batting order. "I am very grateful for this opportunity and I am enjoying it a lot," he stated in an interview with Prensa Latina, and he urged the Cuban fans to keep their trust in a "group that always gives its maximum effort on the field."
The gardener Leonel Moas Jr. also expressed his pride in being part of the team in this Centennial Games and reiterated his commitment to collective success.
For his part, the infielder Luis Vicente Mateo, who was already part of the delegation that won silver in San Salvador 2023, made it clear what the goal is: to improve upon that result and return Cuba to the top of the podium. Mateo highlighted the "excellent physical and mental condition of the team" and emphasized that "victory remains the only goal for Cuban baseball."
The team arrives at this meeting refreshed and missing several of its key players, but with a combination of young talents and players with international experience, including Yanqui, who participated in the World Baseball Classic.
Cuba has been enduring a 12-year drought without winning the gold in baseball at the Central American and Caribbean Games, since its last title in Veracruz 2014. In the following two editions —Barranquilla 2018 and San Salvador 2023— the team settled for silver. In the latter, the final against Mexico didn’t even take place due to rain, and the gold was awarded to the Mexican team for having a better record.
Santo Domingo holds a special symbolic value for Cuban baseball: in 1969, in that very city, Cuba won the Amateur World Championship with a perfect record of 10-0, defeating the United States in the final with a decisive performance by pitcher Gaspar "Curro" Pérez. Also, at the 2003 Pan American Games, Norge Luis Vera started the final against the United States and Cuba triumphed 3-1.
With 15 gold medals in 24 historical editions, Cuba is the most successful team in Central American baseball, a legacy that the current team seeks to honor in the decisive match of the tournament.
The super round is scheduled from August 4 to 6, with the medal finals set for August 7.
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