MANILA – After the dream of qualifying for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League was shattered by Tokyo F.C., Ceres-Negros F.C. turns its campaign to the 2020 AFC Cup versus Svay Rieng of Cambodia at the Rizal Memorial Stadium here tonight.
Veteran forward Bienvenido Marañon said that he is confident that they will perform better in the AFC Cup after assessing their mistakes that led to a 2-0 cold and rainy night defeat in Tokyo during the third leg of the AFC Champions League Qualifier last month.
“AFC Cup is our favorite competition, and we are ready and focused to do a great run this year,” he said. “The experience we have in the ACL was good for us because it helps us to get our confidence, get fit, and recover the winning spirit that we have before.”
An added boost for the Negros Occidental-based football club was the return of Manuel “Manny” Ott, who did not appear in the Busmen’s lineup last year after deciding to take his talents to Thailand. He, however, saw limited minutes there after suffering from a shin injury.
“I’ve missed competing in the AFC Cup”, said Ott. “There’s a lot of pride and honor in playing in continental competition with Ceres-Negros. I just want to have a good start now with the upcoming game and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
Svay Rieng head coach Conor Nestor, for his part, admitted that facing the powerhouse Ceres-Negros will be a tough task, but he challenges his wards to give their best.
“It will be one of the biggest tests of our professional career,” Nestor admitted. “But we will face it together and meet it head-on.”/PN
