Havana, Cuba - Cuba will debut versus the Dominican Republic in the first game of the Caribbean Baseball Series, event that will take place from February 1 to 7, 2017, in the Mexican city of Culiacan.

JIT sports publication stated that Cubans and Dominicans will face each other at the new stadium of that town, still lacking official name.

According to the scheduled released, Cuba will rest on the second day of the tournament and will face Puerto Rico on February 3rd, Venezuela (4th) and the host team (5th), closing date of the knockout stage.

JIT adds that the statistics reflect how Mexican sides deprived Cubans from winning their premieres, with scores of 9-4, 2-1 and 9-3 against the teams of Villa Clara, Pinar del Rio and Ciego de Avila, respectively.

In 2015, Cuba´s Pinar del Rio, coached by Alfonso Urquiola, won the title in tournament held in San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico.

The 56th edition of the national baseball championship will begin on August 7 th, and the champion of that contest will be the Cuban representative in the 2017 Caribbean Series.