by Yosley Carrero
HAVANA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Cubans continue to practice baseball5, a street version of baseball or softball games played worldwide, largely in the United States, Asia and Central America.
Among them is Brandy Molina, awarded the most valuable player during the first Baseball5 World Cup held last year in Mexico.
Before commuting to the Cuban national baseball5 team's court in the Havana district of El Cerro, the 27-year-old workouts at home.
"We usually need to train hard to keep in good shape," he told Xinhua. "We are not only committed to gaining more medals but also to spreading the practice of this new sport nationwide."
Like him, hundreds of elite baseball5 athletes across the country's 15 provinces and the Isle of Youth special municipality expect to be recruited for Cuba's national teams.
One of them is high school student Amanda Diaz, who has found baseball5 an incentive to spend her free time and set new goals in life.
"I feel so proud of being here," she said. "Baseball5 provides players with the possibility to develop strong connections among themselves."
Inspired by games played in the streets of Latin American countries, the new five-on-five was first launched by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in 2017.
After being crowned during the first Baseball5 World Cup, the Cuban national team now prepares to participate in the Youth Baseball5 World Cup this year and the second edition of the Baseball5 World Cup in 2024.
Pablo Terri, Cuba's national baseball5 coach, told Xinhua that a national talent search program is underway to recruit players from early ages.
"This is not only about strength and speed," he said. "We need players with the capacity to make quick and right decisions during the game."
Cuba's national baseball5 team, which places first at the WBSC rankings followed by Chinese Taipei and France, has been named the Team of the Year in 2022 in the Caribbean nation.
"We are working hard to qualify for the mixed-gender event to be held in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games," said Eron Bernal, baseball5 commissioner on the island. "We feel very optimistic." ■
