VENEZUELA 5 JAPAN 4
	R		H	E
	Japan Venezuela	4 5	5 4	4 1
	Venezuela faces the U.S. champ on Saturday.

Ruben Maverez's three-run homer keyed a four-run second inning as Maracaibo upset Tokyo 5-4 in Thursday's International Pool final. Marcel Prado squelched Tokyo's mighty offense, allowing five hits and striking out nine.

Tokyo - representing the defending champion Far East - had appeared untouchable, rolling through the preliminary round with a 3-0 record - including Sunday's 10-0 win over Maracaibo - while outscoring its opposition 28-8.

In the final, Tokyo rallied for three runs in the fifth to close within one run, but came up empty in the sixth, sparking a wild celebration on the field and among the small contingent of Venezuelan fans in the stands.

	Venezuela jumped out to an early lead and held on for the 5-4 win over Japan.

Maracaibo manager Eduvino Quevedo, who credited God all week, stood on the mound raising his arms in the air.

Meanwhile, Tokyo's Sho Akimoto, who made the final out, knelt doubled-over along the first-base line before his teammates came to console him.

Maracaibo will meet the winner of Thursday night's U.S. Pool final between Bellaire, Texas, and Davenport, Iowa, for the championship on Saturday.

Maracaibo is the first Latin American team to reach the finals since Guadalupe, Mexico, won it all 1997. All nine Venezuelan Series entries have come from Maracaibo.

And this year's road to Williamsport was perhaps their wildest ride.

Maracaibo rallied from a 7-4 deficit to beat Curacao to win the Latin American title. Then, on their way north, their flight encountered mechanical problems, and they encountered bad weather and turbulence on both the San Juan and Philadelphia legs of their trip.

On Tuesday, they beat Toronto 5-4 on Ali Castillo's two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to qualify for the pool final.

And there was no stopping them on Thursday. Along with capitalizing on some unlikely Tokyo miscues, the team finally found its offense.

Ahead 1-0, Maracaibo got to pitcher Kazuma Yamada in the second. After Prado scored on an error, Mavarez smacked Yamada's offering an estimated 208 feet over the centerfield wall.

Yamada was pulled in favor of ace Leo Nakayama, but it was too little, too late.

After scoring one in the fourth, Tokyo added three more in the fifth, two scoring on a wild pitch and an error.

Tokyo's offense, which entered the game 25-for-79 (.316) in the Series, managed just five hits.

Nakayama had two hits, scored twice and drove in one run for Tokyo. He finished the Series 8-for-10 with 11 runs scored and eight RBIs.

Tokyo committed four errors.