updated 4:10 a.m. ET March 21, 2006

SAN DIEGO - Cuba still has plenty of reason to celebrate.

The Cubans surprised a lot of people just by reaching the World Baseball Classic final, even though losses in international competition are rare for the communist Caribbean nation. And after all, they almost weren’t allowed to participate because of the country’s touchy political relationship with the United States.

So while Japan won Monday night’s championship game 10-6, the fact that Cuba made it so far showed fans back home that this team — which has lost top stars to defection in recent years — could compete against rosters loaded with major leaguers.

The Cubans advanced through the 16-team tournament when the talented teams from the Dominican Republic and United States, both filled with All-Stars, could not. Cuba made it farther than three of New York Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner’s superstar multimillionaires: Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

“Reaching the gold medal game wasn’t a gift from anyone,” Cuban manager Higinio Velez said. “Cuba was even included in the toughest group, the group of death.”

It was quite a tournament for Cuba, which has reached 37 straight title games in major international events and won 22 of its last 25 games.

But the Cubans, who consider themselves amateurs despite their star status on the streets of Havana, couldn’t add the inaugural Classic to a long list of accolades that includes last year’s World Cup title, the 2004 Olympic gold medal and the championship of the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.

Moments after their defeat, with the Japanese celebrating in the middle of the diamond, Cuba’s players made their way out of the dugout to congratulate their opponent — a respectful gesture common in international play.

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“I think this Classic is historic because it demonstrated that not only the players from the paid major leagues can carry the supremacy. We’ve demonstrated that what matters is sacrifice, human values and the effort you give on the field,” Cuban outfielder Frederich Cepeda said. “This is a well-deserved second place. We’re not satisfied, but we’re happy with our performance.”

It was such an honor for them to take part that Cuban officials have hinted they would like to be considered as a host for the next WBC three years from now.

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Cuba’s Yadel Marti and Carlos Tabares posed on either side of Ichiro Suzuki for a postgame photo.

“It was a great tournament,” Marti said. “It’s good for Cuba. We have to be happy.”

As the game wore on Monday night, Cuba staged a final rally in the eighth. Cepeda delivered a two-run homer off Japan reliever Shunsuke Watanabe to pull the Cubans to 6-5, and their spirited fans — many draped in the country’s flag and clanging cowbells — who had packed Petco Park kept chanting “Cuba! Cuba!”

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“In history, Cuba has always been a really strong team,” said Japanese reliever Akinori Otsuka of the Texas Rangers. “I realize how strong the baseball system is in Cuba. Probably everybody knows about Cuba.”

But Japan and its effective small-ball style exposed every weakness on a Cuban pitching staff that had been near perfect in its previous seven WBC games. Cuba’s deep staff looked hittable again, two days after Marti and Pedro Lazo shut down the Dominicans in the semifinals.

The pitchers, and all of Cuba’s players for that matter, sacrificed their stardom to participate in this special event even if it was in a more limited role than they might have liked. Most members of the pitching staff are starters back home, accustomed to working deep into games.

In Havana’s central park, where hundreds watched the game on giant screens, the mood was quiet and somber after the loss.

“Cuban baseball, Olympic and world champion, was always questioned because it didn’t face professionals. And look, they reached the Classic final,” said Jorge Perez, a construction worker in the city.

Cepeda might have said it best when he described what this run meant in his country.

“If we could win, that would be the greatest victory that would have been expected in Cuban baseball,” he said. “The world has been waiting for this day playing against the major leaguers.”

And Cuba made the most of it.

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