Even with far from ideal preparation, Ceres Negros hopes to continue punching above its weight in Asia’s most prestigious club competition as it battles Chinese powerhouse Tianjin Quanjian on Tuesday in the final playoff for a spot in the group stage of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League.
Not only are they heavy underdogs against the team that finished third in the Chinese Super League last season, the Busmen will also take the field in freezing conditions just 12 hours after arriving in Tianjin.
The Busmen secured their visas from the Chinese embassy only on Monday afternoon and with no direct flight from Manila to Tianjin, they are estimated to arrive in the Northern coastal Chinese city at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
The Busmen opened their qualifying campaign with a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Myanmar’s Shan United last Jan. 16, before stunning Brisbane Roar, 3-2, in Queensland last week.
But Tianjin will be a step up in quality as the squad boasts world class talents in Brazilian Alexandre Pato, Belgian Axel Witsel and Chinese Nationals Zhao Xuri and Liu Yiming.