Ceres starts C League bid vs Myanmar

MANILA, Philippines — Reigning Philippine champ Ceres Negros FC seeks to sustain its magical run from last year as it plays in the qualifying playoffs of the AFC Champions League tomorrow against Myanmar counterpart Shan United in Yangon.

The Busmen, who made history by winning the Asean Zone of the second-tier AFC Cup in 2017 and ruling the inaugural Philippines Football League (PFL) at home, seek to make the most of the opportunity to play in the Preliminary Round 1 stage of the qualifiers for the top-flight Champions League.

 “This is another milestone for Philippine football and we will make sure we put on a good performance against Shan United,” Ceres midfielder Stephan Schrock said in a report on the Asian Football Confederation website.

“Our mission is to get as far as possible in the AFC Champions League or the AFC Cup,” added the Fil-German.

It will be a tall order for the Busmen, though. Should they prevail over Shan on the road, Australian side Brisbane Roar awaits in the Preliminary Round 2 in another away assignment. If victorious, Ceres will take on Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian also away in the final playoff.

If it bombs out of the qualifiers, the Busmen will play in the AFC Cup instead.

Ceres retained the core of its triumphant team and beefed up its roster with new signings Toni Doblas, Mike Ott, Amani Aguinaldo, Takumi Uesato and Sean Kane.

Spaniard Doblas, who won a Copa de Rey with Real Betis, takes over goalkeeping chores while Azkals striker Ott moved from Angthong United to Ceres to join brother Manny.

National team defender Aguinaldo joined from long-time club Global Cebu but will only be available middle of the year as he recovers from knee injury.