The President of the Nicaraguan Associated Baseball Federation, Nemesio Porras, described the upcoming series involving the national teams of his country and Cuba starting Thursday as "a dream come true."

"You are at home, this is your land," said the former star second baseman upon receiving players and coaches from the Island at the Augusto César Sandino International Airport.

Before representatives of numerous media outlets, the official highlighted the sporting ties between both nations and the significance of the duels to be played on the threshold of the VI World Baseball Classic.

"For us, consolidating this international series is something very big, because our people greatly admire Cuban baseball," he stated, satisfied with the expectations generated by the matchups set to take place in Masaya (19th), León (22nd), Rivas (25th), and Managua (27th).

Porras praised the opportunity to once again greet "legends" such as the director of the Island's team, Germán Mesa, and coaches Omar Linares and Pedro Luis Lazo, and recalled the friendship that unites them, forged through healthy rivalry on the fields.

Those individuals spoke in the same vein, aware of the positive aspects of adding competitive preparation to the conditioning process for the demanding tournament, and confident that these games "will become a celebration," as Lazo noted.

"Nicaragua is like my second homeland," emphasized Mesa, who treasures several titles as skipper in the local professional league and now faces the greatest challenge in his career as a strategist.

The first group that arrived in the Nicaraguan capital will be increased between Tuesday and Wednesday with the arrivals of the remaining players summoned to perform in this segment of the conditioning process.