Today, Friday, the Eight-Team Series of the National Juvenile Baseball Championship 'Caja de Ahorros Cup' begins, dedicated to legends Darío Agrazal, David Rivas, and Benjamín Salamín. In this second phase of the tournament, the series are scheduled as best-of-seven (the first to win four games advances to the semifinals). One of the series starting today will be between Coclé, the current champion and second seed in the regular season, against Chiriquí Occidente (the seventh-ranked team). Today's game, scheduled for 7:00 PM, will be held at the Remón Cantera Stadium in Aguadulce, where the second game will also take place tomorrow. Coclé is the favorite to defeat the western Chiricanos. They won their two regular season games, but by narrow margins: 3-2 and 5-3. Tomorrow, at 7:00 PM, the other two series will begin: Panamá Oeste (seed 1) vs. Herrera (8) at the Mariano Rivera stadium, while Panamá Metro will face Panamá Este at the Rod Carew Stadium. The current champion was consistent in the regular season with a record of 18 wins and 3 losses. Meanwhile, Chiriquí Occidente had a strong start to the tournament but then went on a bad streak, finishing with an 11-11 record to secure the seventh spot. In the two regular season matchups, the 'Red Wood' was superior, winning 9-0 and 11-0. The other series starting today is Chiriquí vs. Los Santos, with the 'Valley of the Moon' team having the home advantage, as they will host the first two games at their fortress, the Kenny Serracín Stadium. In this series, Chiriquí is the slight favorite.
