MANILA – Ceres Negros moved closer to sealing the 2018 Philippines Football League title after a 3-1 victory over Davao Aguilas at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex in Davao del Norte.
Jeffrey Christiaens, Armani Aguinaldo and Bienvenido Marañon scored a goal each.
Ceres Negros immediately snatch the lead at the fifth minute as Christiaens took advantage of Aguilas’ keeper Ronilo Bayan going out of his zone for an easy conversion.
After taking the lead, Ceres Negros were determined to drop the hammer on Aguilar with multiple chances from Jose Elmer Porteria and Marañon but their attempts were wide for a 1-0 halftime score.
Ceres Negros continued to be the aggressors in the second half as it took its second goal of the match with Aguinaldo finding the back of the net with a header at the 60th minute.
The Busmen grew the lead to 3-0 minutes later with Marañon converting a penalty at the 76th minute. Aguilas was able to pull one back late in the game on a close range shot from Kim Sungmin.
With the win, Ceres Negros widened its lead on top with 48 points on 15-2-3 win-loss-draw card and moved two wins away from back-to-back PFL title.
“We played very tough games last week so we came here in Davao to enjoy. Maybe after six months of competing 100 percent we have an opportunity to play the game without pressure,” said Ceres Negros head coach Risto Vidakovic.
The defending champions can snatch one of the needed two wins to formalize its coronation when it plays host to Global Cebu at Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City tonight./PN
