They beat Havana in penalties (5-5, 5-3) and were crowned for the first time in these competitions. Cienfuegos beat Santiago de Cuba for the bronze medal.
Ciego de Avila was crowned champion of the 2023 National Futsal League, beating Havana in a penalty shootout.
The Sharks dethroned the champion of the previous edition and lifted the title for the first time in the history of these competitions.
The final match started with Havana’s dominance at the Ramón Fonst Multipurpose Hall, packed with spectators supporting the blue team, thanks to a goal by Bárbaro Shelier at the 10th minute.
The capital’s advantage was maintained in the first half, but in the early stages of the second half, Maykol Girón, the reinforcement from Granma, asserted his status as the leading scorer of the tournament and scored the equalizer.
It took just one minute for Iduán Martínez to give the locals the lead back, but Harold Aguilera responded with another goal and brought the score back to parity.
One action later, the Avilenians got back on track with a goal by Harold Aguilera, which gave them the advantage at The captain of the central defenders, Ernesto Duanes, extended the lead at the half-hour mark, but Freddy Herrera’s team scored again through Yordanis Galán.
Pinar del Río’s Lázaro Castro put the challengers away again three minutes later, but Iduán Martínez came closer in the 35th minute.
It seemed that Osmel Valdivia’s team would celebrate the victory with one minute left before the final whistle, but Cristian Morejón postponed the celebration with the definitive 5-5.
In the penalty shootout, the Avilenians were perfect and thus won 5-3 in the shootout, winning the title that inaugurated their trophy cabinets.
The team led by the national coach managed to join the select club of champions, which to date only included Havana, Industriales, Pinar del Río and Granma.
Before the gold medal match, the team from Cienfuegos won the bronze medal by beating Santiago de Cuba three goals to two.