Baseball comes off the program in 2012 and Cuba was searching for its fourth gold medal since becoming an Olympic sport in 1992. South Korea played the spoiler stunning Olympic powerhouse Cuba 3-2.
South Korea had beaten Cuba 7-4 in their first meeting and it was the Cubans only loss before the final. In a tight game South Korea was able to hold on and beat Cuba to become one of three teams to go undefeated and win Olympic gold, the previous two were the 1992 and 1996 Cuban teams.
The Cubans did not go quietly as they loaded up the bases in the ninth before Yulieski Gourriel grounded into the 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
The Cubans had trained in South Korea a month before heading to Beijing. They played Korean professionals in two games splitting them. Maybe these rivals got to know each others' strengths and weaknesses.
In 2006, South Korea showed the world a glimpse of the level of their baseball as they were undefeated in the WBC before losing the semifinals to Japan. They won the Olympic gold by going undefeated and look prepared to make another run at the WBC title. Hopefully these two teams get to meet in the WBC in San Diego.
