Havana, Cuba - Far from the qualifying area to Cuban baseball playoffs with nine days left, the monarch Pinar del Río visits today the solid team of Matanzas, only squad which already reached its ticket to the decisive stage of the championship.

Not even the psychological advantage of playing at home was a catalyst for those coached by Alfonso Urquiola, who in the two recent subseries have been defeated twice by Holguin and Granma respectively.

Result: the current national champions remain stranded in the sixth seat of the standings with 40 wins and 38 defeats, three games behind Industriales (43-35), owner of the fourth seat granting the last berth to the playoffs.

In turn, Granma (47-31) will look to seal its presence in the postseason when receiving Isla de la Juventud (41-37), team that appears fifth and has lost ground six consecutive defeats as visitor, to greatly compromise its chances of advancing to the semifinals.

In this context, Industriales will have an excellent opportunity to get away from the latter and Pinar del Río, when facing as visitor Holguin (35-43), which appears on bottom of the standings.

Ciego de Ávila, third with balance of 46-32, could also achieve its qualification when receiving Artemisa (37-41), virtually eliminated from the struggle for accessing to the postseason.