After adding 18 victories in 22 games during the last third of the 62nd Cuban National Series, and securing their ticket to the postseason, the Las Tunas Lumberjacks returned to the José Martí Plaza, in the heart of the provincial capital; the same place where three months ago they promised to be included for the sixth consecutive year among the eight best teams in the country.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- A small representation of the people of Las Tunas welcomed them home, after almost two weeks in Matanzas and Sancti Spíritus, two usually complicated scenarios in which the red-green power made itself felt with seven victories in 10 matches.
The incredible closing of the team from Las Tunas allowed them to finish the regular season in second place, just half a game behind Santiago de Cuba. With five remaining games to go, reaching one of the top two positions is the team's new goal, according to the mentor Abeysi Pantoja.
"About three months ago, in this same square, we made clear our commitment to qualify and we've already achieved it; but there's still more to go. We have five games left and there's a new objective: to finish in the top two because that suits us to guarantee the ticket to the Elite League, which would be another opportunity to become champions," he said.
"We thank all those who have supported us, those who believed in us, and those who did not believe to join... On Wednesday we are waiting for you at 10:00 in the morning at the 'Mella', where we expect to continue a milestone, " concluded the rookie manager of the Lumberjacks when addressing the fans and the authorities who attended the modest reception.
The Las Tunas team will play a pending match next Tuesday against the Holguín Cubs, at the Calixto García Stadium, and a day later, they will receive the Guantánamo Indians at the Julio Antonio Mella Park.
The rest of the pending matches, one against the Guantánamo squad, another away from home, in Ciego de Ávila, and one more in their headquarters against Pinar del Río, would only be played if are decisive for classifying or changing the position of the teams qualified for the postseason.
