The clash between Pinar del Río and Ciego de Ávila, two of the most stable teams in the first half of the championship, marks the start of a new sub-series in Cuban baseball today.

On the back of a great season, the Vegueros are looking to become the first team with 30 wins and maintain their lead in the tournament, despite the siege of Las Tunas.

Pinar del Río dominates the bilateral pairing by 91-76 and they have met in a pair of baseball finals on the island with one gold for each side, in the 50th series (2010-2011) Vegueros won and five seasons later Tigres lifted the crown.

Also noteworthy are the clashes between Camagüey and Artemisa, both in the qualification zone and whose historical balance benefits Toros by just one game (26-25).

Second in the standings, Las Tunas, travelled to Sancti Spíritus with the aim of closing the gap in the historical balance, which leans in favour of the Gallos (127-90), who this time appear below the halfway point of the standings.

Alazanes de Granma’s opponents will be Cienfuegos, an opportunity that could help them consolidate their place among the top teams in the standings and widen the lifetime gap between the two (94-71).

Santiago de Cuba will host Matanzas, an opponent that is ten games ahead of them in the bilateral duel (82-72), and even with some notable losses due to transfers to professional leagues, they are candidates for many pundits and reporters for the post-season.

Cuba’s top winner of national series titles, Industriales (12), will play host to Holguín at the Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana, which they have a 118-75 lead over in the pairings.

Finally, Mayabeque will face Guantánamo, boosted by their historic dominance (29-22) and Villa Clara crossed the sea to face La Isla, inspired by the 105-66 record achieved in the golden days of the Leopards from the centre of the island.

The organisers of the championship informed that this sub-series will be run from Tuesday to Saturday to allow the teams to enjoy next Sunday, Mother’s Day, with their families.

Pinar del Río (29-13) leads the preliminary ranking, escorted by Las Tunas (25-12, with five games pending against La Isla), Ciego de Ávila (25-17), Granma and Camagüey (24-18), Industriales and Artemisa (22-20).

Eighth place is shared by Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas (21-21), followed by Mayabeque (19-23), Sancti Spíritus (18-24), La Isla (15-22), Villa Clara, Guantánamo and Holguín (17-25) and Cienfuegos (15-27).