South Korea will play Cuba in a pair of tuneup games in Seoul ahead of an international baseball tournament in November, officials here said Tuesday.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the national team for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 will take on Cuba on Nov. 1 and 2 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

The games will help South Korea’s preparation for the Nov. 10-24 Premier12 tournament, and also celebrate the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries earlier this year.

South Korea and Cuba also played exhibition games at Gocheok Sky Dome in November 2015 to mark the opening of the first domed stadium in South Korea.

South Korea won the inaugural Premier12 in 2015, and finished as the runner-up to Japan at the 2019 tournament, which doubled as a qualifying event for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

For this year’s tournament, 12 teams have been drawn into two groups of six. Managed by Ryu Joong-il, South Korea is in Group B with Japan, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Au
stralia and the Dominican Republic.

They will play preliminary games in Taipei, with Japan playing one game on home soil in Nagoya. The top two nations from each group will qualify for the Super Round, which will be contested entirely at Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital.

The dome will also host the bronze medal game and the championship final on Nov. 24.

Source: Yonhap News Agency