BACOLOD CITY—Philippines Football League champion Ceres-Negros chases history anew as it clashes with Yangon United of Myanmar on Tuesday night in the AFC Champions League preliminary round at Panaad Stadium here.
The Busmen, who fell one win short of reaching the group stage of Asia’s most prestigious club competition last season in a run that included a stunning upset of Brisbane Roar of Australia, are bracing for a tough outing against the Burmese champions in the 7 p.m. kickoff.
Questions abound the Busmen’s sharpness as they have not played together since the Paulino Alcantara Cup last September.
“It is going to be a real test,” said Serbian coach Risto Vidakovic, who has eight players coming off a stint with the national team in the AFC Asian Cup.
Ceres beat Yangon United over two legs in the AFC Cup zonal semifinals last year, but the Burmese side added another goal-scoring threat in Brazilian midfielder Vinicius Miller to pair up with Seykou Sylla upfront.
“The new players are very good, but we have to work on playing together to achieve many things this season,” said Bienvenido Maranon, who is coming off an injury.