Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana – site for the 2016 Serie del Caribe
La Serie del Caribe, the Caribbean World Series, returns to the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo in 2016 for the 58th edition of the torneo invernal. The site for the onfield action will be Estadio Quisqueya, the venerable stadium in the capital built in 1955 by the government of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo.
This venue seats approximately 14,500 and measures 335′ down the lines, 383′ in the alleys and 411′ in center field. The stadium serves as the home field for two of the Dominican winter league’s six teams – los Leones del Escogido and los Tigres del Licey.
Thelma Acosta (r) of Travesias Mundiales and associates-Your author with uber-fanatico KK Estrada and my good friend Juan Antonio
My travel plans are booked for Serie del Caribe 2016, which will be played February 1-7. I will again be traveling with my Mexican amigos in a tour group organized by Travesias Mundiales in Hermosillo, Sonora. This will be my sixth trip to the Caribbean Classic, and my second visit to Santo Domingo. I look forward to it with much anticipation.
The schedule of games for Serie del Caribe 2016 is here. Remember that Santo Domingo is on Atlantic time, so they are one hour ahead of the U.S. eastern time zone.
Here’s the latest:
Reporting from Santo Domingo
Your author at Estadio Quisqueya with Enrique (l) and Juan Antonio (r) and with some like-minded fans
Your author with ” El Papa’ ” Martin ….. and with two real-life padres
All four photos above courtesy of Juan Antonio Jasso R.
MEXICO WINS SERIE DEL CARIBE 2016
Day Seven — Sunday February 7, 2016
The Mexican team (Venados de Mazatlan) defeated Venezuela (Tigres de Aragua) in dramatic fashion Sunday night. DH Jorge Vasquez hit a lead-off, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 5-4. This clinched Mexico’s fourth Serie del Caribe crown in the last six years. Mexico ran the table, six wins and no losses, for the first time since the format of competition changed in 2013.
Here are some of my reflections on Serie del Caribe 2016:
* The system of competition worked well this year. The two strongest teams, Mexico and Venezuela, played well in the round robin, won their semi-final games, and met in an exciting final.
* Of the five teams, only the Cubans were clearly overmatched. Puerto Rico played well and was probably the positive surprise of la Serie. Although the Dominicans were swept, they were in every game and lost several in extra innings.
* Fan support from the local Dominican hosts was less than expected. No game even approached being a sell out. When talking with the locals, they blamed the poor local economy and high ticket prices.
* Although overall attendance was not up to expectations, there were large contingents of Mexican, Venezuelan, and Puerto Rican fans at the games supporting their teams. At the final, about a third of the stadium was occupied by Mexican fans, another third by Venezuelans, and a third was empty. Apparently, there is a large Venezuelan expatriate community in the Dominican Republic and they were certainly out in force supporting their team. The Mexican fanaticos received a lot of positive press coverage for their attendance and support of la Serie.
Finally, I would like to thank all of my Mexican amigos for their friendship and support at la Serie. Special thanks to mi buen amigo Juan Antonio. Gracias por todo.
And to all of my amigos SABReros, thanks for reading!
Day Six – Saturday February 6, 2016
IT WILL BE VENEZUELA AND MEXICO IN THE FINALS !
Venezuela romped over Puerto Rico 13-3 and Mexico took the nightcap over Cuba 7-2. The final game will be Sunday at 4pm local (Atlantic time zone) time. Fans here see this as a good result, as the clubs with the two best records in round robin play are competing against each other for the Serie del Caribe crown.
Venezuela 13 – Puerto Rico 3
Jose ‘Cafecito’ Martinez led the offense for Venezuela with four hits, including a triple and homer, and four RBI. Marcus Walden scattered seven hits in 5.1 innings for the win. Venezuela is looking for their first Serie del Caribe crown since 2009. Puerto Rico exceeded expectations and had a good tournament.
Mexico 7 – Cuba 2
SS Yunieski Betancourt had three hits and four RBI to lead the Mexican offense. Hector Daniel Rodriguez recorded his second win of la Serie, pitching six innings while allowing only one run. Seven Cuban players had a hit apiece, but they could not put together a big inning to catch the Mexican squad. Mexico will be looking for its fourth Serie del Caribe title in the last six years.
Day Five – Friday February 5, 2016
Mexico 8 – Puerto Rico 4
Mexico scored six runs in the top of the eighth to pull away from a scrappy Puerto Rican club. At the top of the order, Pineda and Greene combined for six hits and four RBI to keep the offense rolling. 1B Cyle Hankerd, who was being given the day off, came off the bench for a key two-run double in the 8th. Neftali Soto hit another homer for Puerto Rico.
Cuba 4 – Dominicana 2 (11inn)
Cuba shocked the home team with a dramatic extra-inning win. Cuba thus advances to the semi-finals while the host Dominicans are eliminated from further play.
FINAL STANDINGS FROM THE ROUND ROBIN PHASE
Mexico (Venados de Mazatlan) 4-0
Venezuela (Tigres de Aragua) 3-1
Puerto Rico (Cangrejeros de Santurce) 2-2
Cuba (Tigres de Ciego de Avila) 1-3
Dominicana (Leones del Escogido) 0-4
On Saturday, Venezuela will play Puerto Rico in the first semifinal and Mexico will play Cuba in the nightcap. The two winners will then advance to the finals on Sunday.
Day Four – Thursday February 4, 2016
Venezuela 3 – Cuba 1
A serious lack of offense continues to plague the defending champions. Venezuela scored one in the second and two in the third to set up the win. Leadoff hitter SS Juniel Querecuto, led the offense with four hits. Cuba recorded an out on a Venezuelan runner by using the hidden ball trick at second base!
Puerto Rico 2 – Dominicana 1 (14 inn)
The cinderella team of the tournament so far, the Puerto Rican squad stunned the home crowd by tying the game in the bottom of the ninth and winning it in the 14th on a walk-off HR by Neftali Soto. Soto had three hits and both RBI. DR closer Raphael Soriano was tagged with a blown save.
Key game on Friday – the losses by Cuba and Dominicana set up a key match on the final day of round robin play. The two teams will play each other in the nightcap, in what will be a loser-goes-home match.
Day Three – Wednesday February 3, 2016
Mexico 6 – Venezuela 4
Venezuela took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, but Mexico scored three in the bottom of the fourth and never trailed thereafter. Eight Mexico pitchers managed to scatter 15 Venezuelan hits to hold on for the win. Justin Greene went 3-4 and Yuneski Betancourt drove in two runs for Mexico. Adonis Garcia, Daniel Alvarez, and Jose Martinez all had three hits each for Venezuela.
Puerto Rico 12 – Cuba 1
The Puerto Ricans stunned Cuba with five runs in the top of the third and went on to win big. Five Puerto Rican pitchers held the Cubans to four hits overall. PR catcher Rene Garcia had 4 RBI and DH Kennys Vargas hit a 3-run homer.
Home Run Derby
This is a new feature added this year for Serie del Caribe. MLB veteran Vladimir Guerrero got top billing for this event and the retired star represented the host Dominicans. However, Venezuelan Felix Perez took the honors. The lefty batter took advantage of a slight breeze blowing left-to-right, plus a sweet swing, to tally eight homers in the first round and two more in the final round.
Round Robin Standings after three days of play are:
Mexico 3-0
Venezuela 2-1
Puerto Rico 1-1
Dominicana 0-2
Cuba 0-2
Day Two – Tuesday February 2, 2016
Mexico 9 – Cuba 3
The Mexican team put up 3 runs in the bottom of the second and kept the lead for the entire game, adding tallies in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings. Cuba threatened in the top of the sixth, scoring 3 runs on five hits as Mexican starter Eddie Gamboa tired, but that was all they could get. Hitting stars for Mexico were 1B Cyle Hankerd with a homer and C Sebastian Valle with 5 RBI. The Mexican squad is looking very good so far.
Venezuela 8 – Dominicana 7 (10 inn)
Venezuela overcame an early 0-4 deficit to win in the bottom of the tenth in a see-saw game.
After two days of play, the round robin standings are:
Mexico 2-0
Venezuela 2-0
Puerto Rico 0-1
Cuba 0-1
Dominicana 0-2
Opening Day games – Monday February 1, 2016
Venezuela 2 – Puerto Rico 1
Puerto Rico scored in the top of the first, and that was the only run they could tally against Venezuelan starter Freddy Garcia. Venezuela scored two runs in the bottom of the second on a walk, a mis-played grounder on the infield, and then a triple by Cafecito Martinez. Those two runs stood up to win the game.
Between games, the opening ceremonies featured music, dancing, and a tribute to Dominican great Juan Marichal. The stadium officially added his name this season, so it is now Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal. The great pitcher was in attendance for the festivities, and he took the ball for the opening pitch. Complete with his trademark leg kick, he fired a strike to the plate.
Mexico 3 – Dominicana 2
The Mexican club took advantage of their speed at the top of the lineup, Dominican errors and solid pitching to take the nightcap. Mexico scored single runs in the top of the second and third innings. The home team tied the score in the bottom of the third when Leury Garcia hit a dramatic two-run inside-the-park home run. Mexico pushed across the winning run in the top of the fifth on two singles and a third Dominican error.
Mexican starter Hector Daniel Rodriguez pitched five innings for the win. Mexican outfielders Justin Greene and Chris Roberson were both 2-4 at the plate. Fernando Rodney made an appearance in the ninth for the Dominicans to keep the game within one. In the bottom of the ninth, the Dominicans had the tying run on third with two outs but a grounder to first ended the game in the Mexicans’ favor.
As of January 31, 2016
I arrived late yesterday via Miami. The international airport in Miami is truly the gateway to Latin America. On the flight from Austin to Miami, I sat next to an elderly lady that was traveling on to Maracaibo, Venezuela to visit her grandchildren. Upon checking departing flights on the board in Miami, I noted seven commercial flights leaving for Cuba, among dozens of other destinations south of the border.
A beisbol riddle: A crab fisherman walks into a cantina. At the bar are a lion, a deer, and two tigers. Where is the cantina?
Answer: The cantina is in Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana. Those are the team mascots of the five clubs participating in Serie del Caribe 2016.
The field is set for the 58th edition of the Caribbean Classic. The clubs are:
Leones del Escogido from Santo Domingo. Los Leones will host the series in their home stadium. Escogido’s field manager is Luis Rojas and the GM of the club is Moises Alou. They are both the sons of MLB player and manager Felipe Rojas Alou. This is Leones’ 16th Dominican Winter League title.
Venados de Mazatlan will represent the Mexican Pacific League. The club from the port city in Sinaloa has captured its 9th LMP crown.
Tigres de Aragua from Maracay won its 10th league title and will represent Venezuela. This season marked the 70th anniversary of the Venezuelan professional league, and Tigres would like to cap that off by bringing the Caribbean Series corona back to Venezuela.
Tigres de Ciego de Avila will represent the defending champion Cubans. In just their second year back in la Serie del Caribe, following an absence of over fifty years, the Cuban squad captured the 2015 crown. They will be keen to repeat.
Cangrejeros de Santurce prevailed in Puerto Rico for their 14th winter league crown. It was the first time in their long history that the team won back-to-back Puerto Rican championships.
A programming note — the games will be broadcast in the U.S. en vivo on ESPN Deportes.
The games start Monday afternoon, February 1. Stand by …
All league final series are decided as of January 30, 2016
Dominican Republic (LiDOM)
Leones del Escogido are the 2015-16 Dominican champions and will play en casa next week at Serie del Caribe.
Leones raced to a 4-games-to-0 final series lead over home-town rivals Tigres del Licey. Licey staved off elimination with a 7-6 victory in game #5, but Leones clinched with a decisive 8-4 victory in game #6. Escogido thus wins the best-of-nine championship, 5 games to 1. This is los Leones’ 16th Dominican championship since 1951.
Mexican Pacific League (LMP)
Venados de Mazatlan are the 2015-16 LMP champions!
After splitting the first two games in Mexicali, los Venados won all three games at home against Aguilas to take the series four games to one. Game five went extra innings, with Mazatlan pushing a run across in the bottom of the 10th inning to prevail 4-3 and capture their ninth LMP crown. Over 15,500 fanaticos enjoyed the game at Estadio Teodoro Mariscal in the port city.
Venezuela (LVBP)
Tigres de Aragua are the 2015-16 Venezuelan champions!
Navegantes opened the final series at home in Valencia against Tigres de Aragua. Magallanes prevailed 14-3 in the first game and also won game two by the score of 5-4. The best-of-seven series then shifted to Maracay, home base of los Tigres, for games 3-5. In game #3, Tigres scored 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings and then won it 5-4 in 12 innings. Tigres also held serve at home in games #4 and #5, winning 6-2 and 6-1.
Upon returning to Valencia, Tigres clinched the championship by winning their fourth straight game, a convincing 8-2 victory over Navegantes. This is Tigres’ tenth Venezuelan championship.
Puerto Rico (LBPRC)
Cangrejeros de Santurce are the 2015-16 Puerto Rican champions!
Indios de Mayaguez opened at home against Santurce. Indios continued their winning ways in the post-season, taking the opener 4-0 over the Cangrejeros. Game two saw Santurce best the Indios 5-2 back in San Juan. Game #3 returned to Estadio Isidoro Garcia in Mayaguez (site of the 2011 Serie del Caribe). The home club Indios won that game 1-0.
Santurce prevailed at home in game #4, 4-3 in 13 innings. Santurce was also able to break serve, winning game #5 in Mayaguez by the score of 3-2 over los Indios. Santurce now leads the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game #6 will be played Friday, January 29 at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan (site of the 2015 Serie del Caribe).
Santurce pushed across two runs in the bottom of the sixth, and that’s all they needed to win 2-0 in game #6, thus successfully defending their Puerto Rican title. This is the first time in franchise history that the Cangrejeros have won back-to-back championships and it is their 14th league title.
Cuba (Serie Nacional)
Don’t forget that the defending champion Cubans’ representative has already been determined. Due to the differences in the Cuban league schedule, as compared to the other four league participants, the Cuban champion from the already completed 2014-15 season will represent Cuba at Serie del Caribe 2016. Therefore, even though Serie Nacional 55 is still underway in Cuba, the SN 54 champions – Tigres de Ciego de Avila – will represent the defending Serie del Caribe champion Cubans.
Complete results of league semi-finals – as of January 21, 2016
Dominican Republic (LiDOM)
Tigres del Licey won twelve straight games in the Dominican todos-contra-todos (round robin) playoff semi-finals, thus punching their ticket to the league finals. The final standings for the 18-game round robin phase was as follows:
Licey 12-6 (advances to finals)
Escogido 9-9 (advances to finals)
Toros 9-9 (eliminated in play-in game)
Estrellas 6-12 (eliminated)
Escogido and Toros thus needed to play a one-game, loser-goes-home, showdown. That game was held in La Romana on January 18. Escogido won that encounter 7-2, and advances to the finals.
Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo will be rocking for the next week, as both Tigres del Licey and Leones del Escogido share the stadium as their home field !! The best-of-nine final series opens on January 20.
Mexican Pacific League (LMP)
Both semi-final matches went the full seven games.
Venados de Mazatlan prevailed 2-1 in the deciding game at Ciudad Obregon and advance to the finals.
Aquilas de Mexicali won 4-3 in 16 innings at home against Navajoa. Over 17,000 fans enjoyed the win at Estadio B-Air.
The LMP finals begin January 20, with Mexicali hosting Mazatlan in a best-of-seven series.
Venezuela (LVBP)
Both semi-final series went the full seven games. Caribes (Anzoategui) were defeated by Navegantes (Valencia) 4 games to 3. Tigres (Aragua) defeated Tiburones (La Guaira) 4-3 and also advance to the finals.
Navegantes have now qualified for the Venezuelan finals for the fourth consecutive year. The opening game of the final best-of-seven series will be held in Valencia on Friday, January 22
Puerto Rico (LBPRC)
The Puerto Rican first-round round robin standings at the completion of the scheduled 12 games is as follows:
Mayaguez 8-4 (advances to finals)
Santurce 5-7 (advances to finals)
Caguas 5-7 (eliminated in play-in game)
Criollos de Caguas visited Santurce for a one-game, loser-goes-home, encounter at Estadio Hiram Bithorn on Thursday evening, January 21. The home team prevailed 1-0, as the Santurce hurlers fashioned a 2-hit shutout.
Santurce will visit Mayaguez on Friday, January 22 to open the seven-game final series.
First Round Playoff Updates – as of January 10, 2016
Mexican Pacific League (LMP)
Aguilas de Mexicali became the first club to advance to the second round of the playoffs, sweeping Charros de Jalisco 4-0 in the opening series.
Yaquis de Ciudad Obregon advanced to the second round on the strength of their 4-2 series win over Los Mochis.
Mayos de Navojoa also advanced by defeating Mazatlan 4-2 in their series.
In the LMP system of competition, a comodin (wild card team) also advances to the semi-finals. This team is determined as the losing first-round club that had the best record. In this year’s case, both Mazatlan and Los Mochis won two games in their series. The wild-card club was then determined by the best “run percentage”, defined as runs-scored divided by runs-allowed. Based on this calculation, Venados de Mazatlan will advance to the second round.
Therefore, the LMP semi-finals will feature best-of-seven series – Mazatlan at Obregon, and Navojoa at Mexicali. The semi-finals begin Sunday, January 10.
Venezuela (LVBP)
Traditional rivals Navegantes de Magallanes (Valencia) and Leones de Caracas met in the first round playoff series. Navegantes advances to the semi-finals by defeating Caracas 4 games to 2.
Likewise, La Guaira has punched their ticket to the semi-finals by defeating Caribes 4-2.
Margarita and Aragua went the full seven games, with Tigres de Aragua winning the deciding game at home 3-1.
To determine the comodin, there is a wild-card game pitting the two teams with the best records among the first-round losers. Per the rules of competition, Caribes and Bravos de Margarita will play a one-game, loser-goes-home playoff on Monday January 11 to determine who will advance to the semi-finals.
** updated January 11 ** Caribes defeated Bravos 1-0 on a second inning solo homer by 1B Oscar Salazar, thus advancing as the wild-card. Therefore, the semi-final matchups in Venezuela are: Caribes vs. Magallanes; and La Guaira vs. Aragua.
Dominican Republic (LiDOM)
The Dominican first round series is an 18-game todos contra todos (round robin) with all four qualifiers playing each other through six rounds. Tigres del Licey have raced to a commanding lead in the first round, with the standings currently:
Licey (Santo Domingo) 11-1
Toros (La Romana) 5-7
Escogido (Santo Domingo) 4-8
Estrellas (San Pedro) 4-8
Puerto Rico (LBPRC)
The Puerto Rican first round series is also todos contra todos, with the three qualifying clubs playing a 12-game round-robin phase. The current standings here are:
Mayaguez 4-2
Santurce 2-3
Caguas 2-3
Update as of December 31, 2015
Venezuela (LVBP)
For the 2015-16 season, Venezuela adopted a split-season format similar to that used in the Mexican Pacific League. The final cumulative point standings, the sum of the first- and second-half records, is as follows:
Navegantes (Valencia) 36-27 14 points cumulative
Tiburones (La Guaira) 33-30 12
Tigres (Aragua) 31-32 10.5
Bravos (Porlamar, Isla Margarita) 28-35 10
Caribes (Anzoategui) 34-30 9.5
Leones (Caracas) 35-30 9.5
Cardenales (Lara) 33-31 9.5
Aguilas (Zulia) 24-39 7
With the top six teams scheduled to advance to the first round of the playoffs, the three clubs tied at 9.5 points (Caribes, Leones, and Cardenales) had to face-off to determine which two clubs would move forward. This three-way play-in was held as a doubleheader at Estadio Universitario in Caracas on December 30. It was an exciting day of beisbol, as Caribes won the opener over Leones 4-2 in 10 innings. Caribes therefore advances, with Leones then playing a loser-goes-home game vs. Cardenales in the nightcap. This game was also a thriller, as the home team Leones prevailed 6-5.
Therefore, the first round of the playoffs will feature these match-ups in best-of-seven format: Navegantes host Caracas; Tiburones host Caribes; and Tigres host Bravos.
Mexican Pacific League (LMP)
The LMP wrapped up the second half of their season, and the six qualifiers have been determined. The combined-point standings, reflecting points earned for both the first- and second-half-seasons, are as follows:
As a result, Culiacan and Hermosillo have been eliminated. The three “quarter-final” best-of-seven matchups, beginning January 1, are as follows:
Jalisco at Mexicali; Los Mochis at Ciudad Obregon; and Navojoa at Mazatlan.
Puerto Rico (LBPRC)
The winter league in Puerto Rico ended its regular season with the standings at:
Indios de Mayaguez 27-15
Cangrejeros de Santurce 21-21 6 GB
Criollos de Caguas 21-21 6
Gigantes de Carolina 15-27 12 (eliminated)
The top three teams now advance to a round-robin phase beginning play on January 2.
Action at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan this winter (photos courtesy of SABR member Angel Colon).
Update as of December 22, 2015
Dominican Republic (LiDOM)
The Dominican league is the first to complete their rol regular (regular season). The final standings at the end of the 50-game schedule is as follows:
Estrellas (San Pedro) 29-21 (Estrellas took first place due to winning season series 6-4 over Licey)
Licey (Santo Domingo) 29-21
Escogido (Santo Domingo) 25-25 4 GB
Toros (La Romana) 23-27 6 GB
Aguilas (Santiago) 22-28 7 GB (eliminated)
Gigantes (San Francisco) 22-28 7 GB (eliminated)
The semi-finals (actually a four-team round robin series) will begin December 27 with Estrellas hosting Toros and Licey vs. Escogido at Estadio Quisqueya.
Update as of November 20, 2015
Mexican Pacific League (LMP)
The LMP franchises are on a building spree, constructing several new stadia. Estadio Sonora opened in Hermosillo in early 2013, Estadio Bancomer has just opened in Culiacan, Sinoloa, and a new stadium is planned for Ciudad Obregon, Sonora in 2017. The league seems happy with the 2014 shift of the Guasave franchise to Guadalajara, thus bringing another large metro area into the LMP. The Mexican winter league plays a split-season format, with the primera vuelta completing on November 19. First-half standings are as follows:
Cuba (Serie Nacional)
Due to the differences in the Cuban league schedule, as compared to the other four league participants, the Cuban champion from the completed 2014-15 season will represent Cuba at Serie del Caribe 2016. Therefore, even though Serie Nacional 55 is now underway in Cuba, the SN 54 champions – Tigres de Ciego de Avila – will represent the defending Serie del Caribe champion Cubans. (thanks to SABR member Peter Bjarkman for clarifying this)
Puerto Rico (LBPRC)
The Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente is operating with only four teams this Winter. Long-time stalwart franchise Leones de Ponce has suspended operations for a second consecutive season, and were joined on the inactive list by the recently-resurrected Senadores de San Juan. Senadores dueno y presidente Lic. Hector J. Ferrer Rios is undergoing cancer treatment and the franchise will suspend operations awaiting his recovery. (thanks to SABR member Angel Colon for this update)
The four clubs playing this season are defending champs Cangrejeros de Santurce, Indios de Mayaguez, Criollos de Caguas, and Gigantes de Carolina. Approaching the half-way point of the season, Indios and Criollos are tied atop the standings, with Carolina 2.5 games back and Santurce 5.5 games back.
Dominican Republic (LiDOM)
All six franchises are returning for play this winter: Leones del Escogido, Tigres del Licey, Aguilas in Santiago, Gigantes in San Francisco, Toros in La Romana, and Estrellas in San Pedro. As of the mid-point of the season, Licey is on top of the standings with a 2 1/2 game lead over their capital rival Escogido and Estrellas.
Venezuela (LVBP)
All eight franchises return for action in the LVBP this Winter: Caribes (Anzoategui), Tigres (Aragua), Aguilas (Zulia), Navegantes de Magallanes (Valencia), Cardenales (Lara), Leones (Caracas), Tiburones (La Guaira), and Bravos (Isla de Margarita). This winter the LVBP has adopted a split-season format similar to that traditionally used in Mexico. Results for the primera ronda are as follows:
Tiburones 19-13 8 pts
Tigres 19-13 7 pts
Navegantes 17-15 6pts
Cardenales 17-15 5pts
Leones 17-15 4.5 pts
Aguilas 15-17 4 pts
Caribes 15-17 3.5 pts
Bravos 9-23 3pts
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