We’ve got two to tango

Ceres-Negros defender Kota Kawase prevails in an aerial duel against Tampines Rovers forward Ivan Dzoni in the match in Singapore. —AFC CUP PHOTOS

SINGAPORE—Ceres-Negros FC looked like it was rolling to a comfortable victory, but the usually reserved Kevin Ingreso started shouting and motioning to his teammates like a coach at midfield.

A two-goal Ceres lead was trimmed to just a single goal and, although the Busmen were hardly in danger of losing the game to a team down to 10 men, Ingreso felt the need to call out his teammates, reminding them not to slack off with half an hour to go in their critical AFC Cup clash against Tampines Rovers at Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday night.

“If the team is struggling, I try to push up my teammates, especially with the position I’m playing,” says Ingreso, who spent most of last season sidelined by various injuries. “I try my best to make the team better.”

To some extent, Ingreso’s play has symbolized the newfound urgency in the performance of this star-studded Ceres side that ended up defying the odds by topping Group G of the AFC Cup that includes powerhouse sides Hanoi FC of Vietnam and Felda United of Malaysia.

The Busmen were already teetering on the brink of elimination after a 0-3 away loss to Felda at Shah Alam Stadium last month, in a game where they missed Ingreso to a hamstring injury and Manny Ott to suspension.

But with their midfield maestros back, the Busmen produced a glittering attacking display to stun Hanoi, 6-2, at Panaad Stadium, ensuring that they had control of their destiny heading into the last day of the group stage against Tampines, which they ended up beating, 4-2.

“We have gotten a good reaction from the players,” says Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic. “They’ve realized that when we play as a team, few teams could beat us.”

Global-Cebu, the other Philippines Football League (PFL) club in the competition, already had one foot in the semifinals after stunning Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) of Malaysia, 3-2, at Rizal Memorial Stadium last month.

The 3-1 win over Cambodia’s Boeung Ket Angkor last Wednesday confirmed that the Cebu side clinched top spot in Group F, which meant the two PFL clubs will only meet each other if they make the finals. Global has Home United of Singapore blocking its way to the semifinals, while Ceres clashes with JDT in what promises to be a slugfest over two legs.

“They are a very strong team, a very rich club,” Vidakovic says of JDT, which also beat Global, 4-0, at Larkin Stadium in Johor during the group stage. “Our focus now is to keep the team spirit high.”

Global owner Dan Palami believes having two clubs in the Asean zonal semifinals speaks volumes of the development of club football in the country.

Palami himself watched Global struggle in its debut in the competition two years ago only to blitz teams in its group this season on the strength of veteran midfielder Paul Mulders’ rejuvenated play.

At the same time, Palami says the two clubs’ performances augur well for the PFL, which kicked off last Saturday.

“We’ve been the underdogs for so long in the Asean, but I think the rest of the region are starting to take notice the strength of our clubs,” says Palami, who is also manager of the national men’s team that went on a miraculous run to the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup seven years ago and triggered the renaissance of the local sport.

“Who would’ve thought that both Philippine clubs will take two of the four slots in the knockout stage in a tough competition like the AFC Cup for two straight years.”

They may be fierce rivals back home, but when it came down to representing the country in the Asian second-tier competition, the two PFL clubs could well be each other’s biggest supporters.

“Of course, we want to beat Global, but we have so much respect for them when it comes to representing the country [in the AFC Cup],” says Ceres’ low-key owner Leorey Yanson. “We’re also trying to represent the country and our province in our own way.”

Ingreso hastens to add: “I think we can be proud of the Philippine clubs, whether it’s Global or Ceres. In international games, we still support each other until we face each other on the field.”

Whether it is Ingreso and Ceres or Mulders and Co. of Global who will be left standing when the dust settles will hardly matter as long as the Philippine flag is flying.