Statistically superior: Cuba's dominant performance on court and on paper at the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024

Cuba’s extraordinary performance at the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 was nothing short of amazing, culminating in a first-place finish after an undefeated run through the tournament to successively defend their title.

Their ability to both score prolifically and defend effectively made them a dominant force from start to finish. Add to that their game awareness, speed of hand and mind as well as team work was another level above as Cuba showed off their class on their way to defending their WBSC Baseball5 World Cup title, first won in Mexico two years ago with another unbeaten performance.

They were an offensive powerhouse throughout the tournament, scoring the most number of runs at 164, ahead of Venezuela (121) and Japan (115) at an average of 18.22 per game.

Their largest margin of victory came against hosts Hong Kong, China whom they beat 17-0, 12-0 on the second day, which was marginally ahead of their 18-2, 11-2 win over European champions Lithuania on the opening game of the tournament, showcased Cuba’s clinical finishing and relentless scoring ability.

Although Cuba looked in imperial form, the chasing pack seems to be getting slightly closer. In Mexico, Cuba scored 164 runs for and 16 runs against across their nine unbeaten games and 18 sets. In Hong Kong, the champions also scored 164 runs but conceded 30 from 19 sets across nine games. Defensively, Venezuela (60) and Japan were the next best with 60 and 66 runs conceded respectively.

While in 2022 Cuba kept two teams scoreless (Mexico & Venezuela), this year in Hong Kong, only one team suffered that fate, which was the home side on the second day while in Hong Kong, Cuba was kept below 10 runs offensively twice (Venezuela and Chinese Taipei) while in Mexico City it happened only once against Japan.

But it was Japan who did manage to take a set of the defending champions for the first time over two World Cups during their first Opening Round encounter in Hong Kong before Cuba went onto to win the game 2-3, 5-2, 3-0.

One of the standout performers for Cuba was tournament MVP Briandy Molina. His influence on both offence and defence was a key factor in Cuba’s success. Also being selected to the All-World Team, Briandy's consistency and leadership was a major factor in Cuba maintaining their perfect record at the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup.

The 29-year-old dominated the scoresheets and the statistics, featuring on all of the leaderboard statistical criteria, including finishing the tournament as the top run scorer with 43 and the second-most number of hits and RBIs with 73 and 29 respectively.

In summary, Cuba’s WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 campaign was a masterclass in consistency. Their strong offence and defence ensured that they would emerge as the undisputed champions, proving to the world that they will be tough to beat at the top of the international Baseball5 competitive scene for years to come.