It's late March, and WBC is approaching the end. Cuba was knocked out of the tournament by Japan, while US survived the challenge of Puerto Rico. Korea and Venuzela confidently rolled into the semi-finals with powers and pitching.
Korea won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. Again, it shows to the world that their recent victories in world tournaments are something more than just luck. They have proved that they can play well against Japan, a so-called "A" team.

Although I don't like Koreans at all, I still have to tip my hat to their performances in WBC. In the following two games, they will have a even better chance to make a statement to the world that they will be the team to beat for a couple of years.

US will clash with Japan. Venuzela will play head-to-dead with Korea. Only the winners play the final. To be honest, I would like to see US play Korea or Japan play Venuzela, instead of rematches between US--Venuzela and Japan-Korea again.

實用字彙
approach (v.) 接近
tournament (n.) 錦標賽
survive (v.) 存活
challenge (n.) 挑戰
roll into 強勢晉級
victory (n.) 勝利
tip my hat 向...致敬
make a statement 聲明
the team to beat 人人想要擊敗的隊伍
to be honest 老實說