Cuba entered the competition as the eight-time defending champions, having won each gold medal dating back to 1971. They successfully defended their title, with the United States finishing second.
The competition had nine teams divided in two groups. In each group, each team played against all others once and the eight best records advanced to the quarterfinals. The best team from Group A played the lowest ranked team from Group B and vice versa. Ties within a group were broken by the team allowing the fewest runs passing to the knockout round.
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