Cuban Baseball Heats Up with Playoffs aroudn the Corner

Cuban baseball is starting to heat up with fans already predicting new champions as the Cuban National Baseball league moves to just 20 games from the start of the playoffs.

In the Western Division, many fans are already saying that Pinar del Rio won’t make it to the finals after three straight losses this week to last year’s league champions Provincia de La Habana.

But predictions are not always infallible when it comes to baseball. Pinar del Rio’s next series is an apparently easy one against the Metropolitanos team from the City of Havana; while Cienfuegos will travel to play against Industriales at the Latino stadium in Havana.

Meanwhile, Provincia de La Habana is likely to beat Isla de la Juventud and make it to the playoffs, where it will probably have to prove itself against a strong Sancti Spiritus team in the semi-finals.

Over in the eastern provinces division, Guantanamo and Villa Clara have already qualified but first place is still to be decided. Four other teams are battling it out for the two remaining tickets with Holguin the biggest underdog.

Of the four, Santiago de Cuban and Ciego de Avila are most likely to take third and fourth and advance to the playoffs, even though Las Tunas is currently sitting in third position. But they will have to have a strong showing against Camaguey.

Santiago de Cuba will play against Granma, while Ciego de Avila will have to do its best to beat Villa Clara. From now on, the top competitors will have to take the field determined to play at their best level with all eyes set on the championship.