Ceres Negros, Shan United set for AFC Champions League play

Club football in the Philippines for 2020 commences on Tuesday night, as Philippines Football League and Copa Paulino Alcantara champions Ceres Negros FC face off against Burmese rivals Shan United in the first round of the AFC Champions League preliminary round.

Set for a 7:30pm kickoff, both teams look to secure a victory that would vault them into the next round, where a matchup against Thai side Port FC looms next week.

Shan United is still searching for their first win against the Busmen, having lost in all five of their meetings, including their preliminary round meeting a couple of years ago, where they lost 4-3 in penalties after playing to a 1-1 standoff after extra time in Yangon. Fresh from an undefeated season in the Myanmar National League, they are looking to make themselves more competitive in continental play.

Ceres is looking for a better performance this time around after suffering a 2-1 loss to Yangon United at Bacolod to end their ACL hopes last year. They have reacquired Arnie Pasinabo and Joshua Grommen, while adding Hikaru Minegeshi and Mark Hartmann to join a core centered on Stephan Schroeck and Bienve Maranon.

For Philippine fans, if the match pushes through, the Ceres-Shan matchup will be shown LIVE on 5Plus, as well as the Sports5 social media channels.

The Local Organizing Committee continues to work as if the match will push through and will only notify if there are any changes if the AFC makes such a declaration.

Ceres' Asian path revealed

Your PFL champions

Earlier this month, the path for current Filipino football champions Ceres-Negros FC to compete in continental play was formally established, with the draws for both the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

The road to the AFC Champions League.

In AFCCL play, the Busmen will be hosting Burmese rivals Shan United in the first round of preliminary play on January 14. Win that and a matchup against Thai FA Cup champions Port FC looms on January 21. The winner of that particular matchup will then head to Japan to face J-League runners-up FC Tokyo on January 28 for the right to participate in Group Stage play.

The survivor for this particular preliminary bracket has been slotted to Group F, where Korean side Ulsan Hyundai, Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua, and Aussie squad Perth Glory await.

The known road for the Busmen

If Ceres is unable to survive the gauntlet in the AFC Champions League prelims, they already have a guaranteed slot in the AFC Cup Group Stage, where they were drawn into Group G alongside Vietnamese side Than Quang Ninh and Indonesian champions Bali United, provided they miss out on AFC CL Group Stage play.

Completing Group G is the winner of the ASEAN Zone playoff between Master 7 FC of Laos against Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC of Cambodia. The two are set to square off in a two-leg playoff in January.

Ceres-Negros FC has been the standard-bearer for Philippine club football in recent years, having qualified for continental play in the past six years. They secured the inaugural ASEAN Zone title in the 2017 AFC Cup, while managing to reach the final round of qualification for the 2018 AFC Champions League.
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History in AFC Competitions (Ceres-Negros FC)

AFC Cup
2015 Playoff Round
2016 Round of 16 (old format)
2017 ASEAN Zonal Champions, Inter-Zone Semifinals (quarterfinals, new format)
2018 ASEAN Zonal Finals
2019 ASEAN Zonal Semifinals

AFC Champions League
2018 Playoff Round (third round)
2019 Preliminary Round 1 (first round)

Field set for opening Philippine Premier League season

The Philippine Premier League. Set to open March 30.

Seven teams made the cut for the launch of the inaugural Philippine Premier League season, the league announced on Friday afternoon.

Four clubs from the Philippines Football League will make the transition to the PPL, led by defending league champions Ceres-Negros FC and inaugural Copa Paulino Alcantara champions Kaya FC-Iloilo. Stallion Laguna FC and United Makati FC will make the move, with the latter rebranding itself from Global Cebu FC.

The other three clubs that will complete the cast are familiar names to many a hardcore Filipino football fan, as they all were part of the United Football League earlier this decade, led by one of its former league champions Philippine Air Force.

The Airmen's representatives were among those present when the launch of the league was conducted earlier this year, led by former Philippine international Ian Araneta, who will take on a coaching role in this go around.

GAU was the most notable club that passed on the opportunity to join the PFL during its existence, spending the time after the UFL instead at the WFL Elite.

The final team that made the cut is Mendiola FC, whose last iteration saw them in UFL's Division II, but has a hallowed tradition based on their bloodline connection with traditional collegiate football powerhouse San Beda.

All seven teams will also take part in the Copa Paulino Alcantara, which the PPL will retain as its cup competition.

The league also revealed today that the schedule for the inaugural season will be released on March 15, kicking off its campaign with a 4pm and 7pm doubleheader on March 30 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

The latter portion of the doubleheader will be shown LIVE on 5Plus and streamed online through the media outfit's social media portals.

The PPL also exhorted its fans to help keep the spirit of football alive in the country by inviting them to come and support the teams.

Ceres-Negros FC kicks off AFC Cup campaign tonight

Busmen preparing for their first AFC Cup Group Stage match.

Ceres-Negros FC kicks off their AFC Cup campaign tonight against Burmese side Shan United at the Pana-ad Park and Stadium in Bacolod, with kickoff pegged at 730pm.

The game will be shown LIVE on both 5Plus and Fox Sports 2, with streaming access via Fox+ and through ESPN5's online accounts.

The Busmen are very much familiar with Shan United, having beaten them twice almost a year ago in the Group Stage, a 2-0 win at home in Bacolod then followed by a 1-0 win at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon.

Fresh from a 2-1 loss at home to Yangon United in the AFC Champions League playoffs earlier this month, the Negrense side and Philippines Football League champions hope that their camp in Singapore would be able to address some of the issues that sprung up in the loss.

Ceres-Negros FC and Shan United are in Group G alongside Vietnamese Cup champions Becamex Binh Duong and Indonesian Liga 1 powerhouse Persija Jakarta.