Four Cuba basketball players go AWOL in Canary Islands

Four Cuba basketball players go AWOL in Canary Islands
Published on Tuesday, August 18, 2009

MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- Four members of Cuba's team have gone missing
in the Canary Islands and may claim political asylum, said the president
of the islands' basketball federation.

Five players originally went AWOL and only one of them turned up for the
flight back to Havana on Monday, federation head Jose Armas told the
Spanish media.

"We know what sportsmen and women tend to do when they leave Cuba and
travel to compete in another country, request political asylum," Armas said.

Spain's basketball federation (FEB) was unavailable for comment and the
interior ministry said it would be unable to confirm the players'
absence unless they claimed asylum. Cuba lost 94-57 to Spain in Las
Palmas on Friday.

Caribbean Net News: Four Cuba basketball players go AWOL in Canary
Islands (18 August 2009)
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/article.php?news_id=18295