Tokyo Dome was mostly silent, with only the sounds of practice ricocheting off thousands of empty seats at the Big Egg, as the 2017 World Baseball Classic took a day off to prepare for the final push to the championship round.

Japan and Cuba, who spent the first round in Tokyo, were joined by Israel and the Netherlands on Saturday, as the four teams held practice sessions ahead of the second round, which begins Sunday.

"We have a good team atmosphere," said Japan infielder Ryosuke Kikuchi. "So I want to stick to my style and have fun."