Cuba and Chinese Taipei Thursday qualified for the second round of the Under-21 Baseball World Championship in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spiritus.

In a Group A match, Cuba beat Panama 10-0 in seven innings late on Wednesday. The winners Thursday take on Australia who also qualified by beating South Korea 2-1.

Cuba lead Group A with three wins, followed by the Netherlands and Australia who each have two wins and a loss, before Panama and South Korea each with one win and two losses. South Africa are last with three straight losses.

In Group B, Chinese Taipei will play Canada in the Ciego de Avila province's main stadium after smashing Spain 9-0 on Wednesday

Chinese Taipei stand on top of Group B with three straight victories, followed by Italy and Canada, with two wins and one loss before Mexico and the United States, leaving Spain at the bottom.

After the final group round on Friday, teams are to be rested on Saturday. The top four teams from each group will begin a knockout competition. The final and the play-off for third place are both on Wednesday next week.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006)