Ceres debuts in Singapore Cup

SINGAPORE—Ceres-La Salle aims to put its AFC Cup disappointment behind when the Bacolod side tackles Garena Young Lions in its Singapore Cup debut at Jalan Besar Stadium here.

The reigning United Football League champions arrived in the Lion City still licking the wounds of their stunning 0-1 extra time defeat to South China last Tuesday in the Round of 16 of the AFC Cup.

Facing a team made up of Singapore’s Under-23 side gives Ceres an opportunity to recover its bearings in the tournament. Filipino clubs have yet to win the tournament since the Football Association of Singapore started inviting UFL teams starting with the Loyola Meralco Sparks five years ago.
Global and Loyola both reached the semifinals in the past couple of editions of the tournament.

A semifinalist last year, Global was slated to play Nagaworld of Cambodia for its first round game Saturday night.

The survivor of the Ceres-Young Lions clash will meet DPMM Brunei in a two-leg quarterfinal tie.

“We learned a lot from our AFC Cup campaign, but now our focus is to win this match,” said Ceres coach Ali Go. “We know we can do better and we want to redeem ourselves in this tournament and also win the UFL league title again.”

Ceres has tapped Bienvenido Maranon, Son Chong Chan and Sang Min Kim as its three foreign reinforcements in the tournament with Spanish striker Adrian Gallardo nursing an injury.