Canada defeats Team Asere 7–2 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
14ymedio, Havana, March 12, 2026 – The squad managed by Germán Mesa had a “disastrous finish” on the field of Hiram Bithorn Stadium, acknowledged the pro-government media Jit. Cuba’s 2–7 loss to Canada hurt. The game not only exposed the weaknesses of Team Asere but also marked the worst performance in the six editions of the event. Never before had the Island been eliminated in the first round.
The team displayed “a conglomerate of lapses in the three aspects of the game,” the same media described, which the opponent knew how to take advantage of. In addition, the team continued with “a brutal offensive drought.” In the game they recorded five hits, a total of 20 in four games, and “struck out a whopping 13 times.”
Speaking to the media, Mesa admitted that “work was done, but the way the game was played makes it very difficult to win a baseball game.” The manager spoke about conducting an evaluation and said this defeat will serve as experience for the next World Baseball Classic.
Journalist Francys Romero, who closely followed Team Asere’s performance, was blunt: “A radical change is needed.” The commentator believes that for Cuba to be a winning team it is urgent that “the system stop controlling the sport” and the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB).
The commentator believes that for Cuba to be a winning team it is urgent that “the system stop controlling the sport” and the Federation.
Romero recalled that, under the current conditions, the call-up of players is limited to 50. The selection is restricted by the athletes’ “political status,” and those who have abandoned a delegation are excluded. The analyst regretted that changing this “is not contemplated in the mentality of the current system.”
For El Nuevo Herald contributor Jorge Ebro, “relievers Yariel Rodríguez, Yoan López, Darién Núñez and Raidel Martínez were unable to contain the Canadian attack, although starter Liván Moinelo had managed to keep the score close in the early innings, despite working too long and using up valuable pitches.”
The loss was blamed on Yariel Rodríguez. However, journalist Yasel Porto Gómez of DPorto Sports LLC said that “it isn’t fair for him to take all the lightning bolts that are coming down on him on social media.”
Porto says that the Cuban Baseball Federation and the team’s leadership also bear responsibility, since they brought “two catchers without the necessary level,” when there were veterans such as Ariel Pestano. “Nor should Andrys take all the criticism for a game in which others also didn’t perform well, and I don’t think he deserves the worst attacks and insults either,” he added.
Juan Carlos Guerra Alonso, JuanK, from Por La Goma LLC, was emphatic: “You can’t build a national team without calling up the best players born in your country. This is the level that group has, and this is the result. It is not a matter of chance or of lighting candles to the saints: it is pure reality.”
The analyst emphasized that “they stubbornly insisted on players who were no longer suited for tournaments of this type, betting on the luck of the famous ‘blessed hit’ that never arrived. In that effort they ended up destroying the beautiful history of several of them, degrading them and making them look very bad on a stage where they didn’t deserve to end like that. All because of archaic ideas that unfortunately ended up demonstrating how wrong they were.”
The analyst emphasized that “they stubbornly insisted on players who were no longer suited for tournaments of this type, betting on the luck of the famous ‘blessed hit’ that never arrived.”
With the win against Cuba, Canada qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time and will play this Saturday in Houston (United States) in the quarterfinals against the second-place team from Group B, which will be decided between Mexico, the United States, and Italy.
The Canadians, managed by Ernie Whitt, advanced to the quarterfinal stage with a 3–1 record and surpassed Puerto Rico for first place in Group A thanks to a higher number of runs scored, 21 to 10 allowed, while the hosts finished with a 15–7 balance.
With an outstanding performance by pitcher Cal Quantrill, who won the game against Cuba after throwing five innings, allowing one unearned run, two hits, one walk and five strike-outs, and with a home run by Abraham Toro, Canada dominated the game.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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