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Quicktake

FINAL: Japan 5, Korea 3 (10 innings) | Recap

South Korea tied the game at 3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the 10th, it was Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki who hit a two-out, two-run single to give Japan the victory over reigning Olympic champion South Korea 5-3.
Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-0) was awarded MVP honors for the second straight Classic.

Rosters and Pool Breakdown
Semifinals & Finals
Los Angeles
Korea (6-3) \| Roster	United States (4-4) eliminated \| Roster
Venezuela (6-2) eliminated \| Roster	Japan (7-2) Champion \| Roster
Round 2
Pool 1: San Diego, California	Pool 2: Miami, Florida
Japan (5-2) Pool 1 Winner \| Roster	Netherlands (2-4) eliminated \| Roster
Cuba (4-2) eliminated \| Roster	Venezuela (6-1) Pool 2 Winner \| Roster
Mexico (2-4) \| Roster	United States (4-3) Pool 2 Runner-up\| Roster
Korea (5-2) Pool 1 Runner-up \| Roster	Puerto Rico (4-2) eliminated \| Roster
Round 1
Pool A: Tokyo, Japan	Pool B: Mexico City, Mexico
China (1-2) eliminated \| Roster	Australia (1-2) eliminated \| Roster
Chinese Taipei (0-2) eliminated \| Roster	Cuba (3-0) Pool B Winner \| Roster
Japan (2-1) Pool A Runner-up \| Roster	Mexico (2-2) Pool B Runner-up \| Roster
Korea (3-1) Pool A Winner \| Roster	South Africa (0-2) eliminated \| Roster
Pool C: Toronto, Canada	Pool D: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Canada (0-2) eliminated \| Roster	Dominican Rep. (1-2) eliminated \| Roster
Italy (1-2) eliminated \| Roster	Netherlands (2-2) Pool D Runner-up \| Roster
USA (2-1) Pool C Runner-up \| Roster	Panama (0-2) eliminated \| Roster
Venezuela (3-1) Pool C Winner \| Roster	Puerto Rico (3-0) Pool D Winner \| Roster

Brackets
Round	Dates	Format/Bracket
1	March 5 - 12	Double Elimination
2	March 14 - 19	Double Elimination
Semifinals	March 21 & 22	Single Elimination
Final	March 23	Single Elimination

Notes

Japan and Korea met five times in the 2009 Classic. They split two games in Round 1 and the same in Round 2.

The elimination of Cuba marks the first time since 1951 that the Cubans failed to reach the final round of a major international competition. Previously they made the finals 40 consecutive times in the IBAF World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup, the Olympics and the WBC.

Daisuke Matsuzaka led Japan to a 10-6 victory over Cuba in the championship game at Petco Park in the 2006 tournament.

Mexico's Foro Sol, located 1.4 miles above sea level, proved to be a hitters delight, with 28 home runs hit in the six games played there.

South Korea won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Photo Gallery

Japan defeated Korea for a second-consecutive WBC title. (AP)

More Photos

Review
Want to recap all the games from the Classic? We have all the game recaps and box scores.
Review \| Scoreboard

Community
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Featured blog

In his blog, You've got eSmack!, Senior Fantasy Writer Eric Mack previews the World Baseball Classic. And, he tells us who he thinks will win it all. Read the blog.

Also: National Columnist Gregg Doyel gives fair warning, he thinks the Classic will backfire. Read the column.

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