Ceres-Negros retained the Philippines Football League title with three games to spare after a 6-1 demolition of Global Cebu Wednesday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
A hattrick from Bienvenido Maranon and a goal each from Blake Powell, Omid Nazari and Mike Ott propelled the Busmen to their 17th win of the season, jacking up their tally to 54 points.
With the win, the Busmen now hold a 21 point advantage against second place Kaya Iloilo, which has two games in hand. Each team plays 25 matches, which means Ceres’ win effectively snuffs out Kaya’s challenge.
Unlike last season when Ceres had to beat Global in a one game final after a classification round, the Busmen rolled to the crown as the PFL reverted to the traditional league format.
The Busmen also clinched a playoff spot to the AFC Champions League as an incentive for winning the league
Relentless throughout their campaign, the Busmen turned on the style when it mattered, firing three spectacular goals in the first half.
Nazari’s rocket from the edge of the area in the 39th minute highlighted Ceres’ dominance that also saw Maranon open the scoring after a fine ball from Manny Ott. Mike Ott got on the scoresheet with a powerful strike in the 36th minute.
Marwin Angeles pulled a goal back three minutes after the restart, but Ceres flashed its newfound depth to cap the victory.
Flashing their newfound depth, the Busmen also got goals from Powell who scored from the spot in between two more strikes from Maranon.