The Asere team played with great dedication in every outing. Photo: Roberto Morejon Author: Roberto Morejon
Still euphoric about fourth place, Team Asere fans are already predicting Cuban potential for the upcoming World Classic in 2026. The results of the recently concluded issue leave good hopes.
It was a result that surpassed predictions in terms of final location. Almost all forecasts agreed that reaching the quarterfinals would be successful. Arriving in Miami, the venue for the semi-final and final, went beyond the most measured calculations.
But this is baseball, an exciting and unpredictable sport. He is back where he has never been since the historic 2006. The team was close to the podium, and that was enough to give free rein to passions, disputes, and also – hopefully forever – get out old patched gloves and make balls from what is at hand to play in occupied football fields or meadows.
It was celebrated in a way that Cubans rarely do. Because for a long time the question was “gold or nothing” for us. And the last touched us the most.
The fourth place should serve to inspire, not to adapt to life from it. “Classic” in its highest quality version of the five made showed that baseball, the best baseball, is not romance and conjecture, not impulses and whims. This is talent, science and thought, all this was played out in offices and between two lime lines.
It has been a successful experience bringing together athletes from the National Series with the Major Leagues and players from other professional circles. Above all, it was identity, patriotic pride and respect for the fans, those whom this Cuba considered its own from anywhere in the world, and not those that are insulted and hated, like the faction that in Miami tarnished the spectacle of the semi-finals.
It was also an opportunity for general learning, proving the potential for synergy typical of those born on this island. A team was created and that’s how it went in every game.
However, they were left with wage arrears: there were not enough powerful strikers and there were many people on the bench without the tools for decisive offensive situations. In some cases, names were weighted, not form states. In such a short tournament, they win by giving priority to the second.
The unfortunate mentalities of our domestic championships have expressed themselves on the playing field. For example: punches as non-functional offensive weapons and careless or untimely handling of the bench and bullpen.
In the age of advanced technology, there is no hidden data. There are no more players taken from under the sleeve. Everything is known about everyone. It is necessary to know the strengths and weaknesses of everyone, individually and as a team, with the precision of a surgeon, in order to plan games.
Japan won the gold long before the championship match. His preparation was by far the best, and reading the match against the USA is a master class for our athletes, coaches and managers.
And it’s not that the plays are good because there’s a talent we don’t have, the key is knowing how to choose from multiple options the one that’s most likely to be useful.
The Asere team, a controversial moniker but digital social media mobilizer, had a track record that needed to be weighed in due measure. The future is difficult. It is earned by taking on challenges with a critical and objective eye, not by over-praise, which ends up alienating us from reality.
2026 is not far off. It’s like someone in second place with a winning streak in their legs hit it. It’s time to run well to return home safely.
Source: Juventud Rebelde