AFC: Ceres-Negros faces Myanmar

Ceres-Negros look to start its AFC Cup campaign on the right direction when it plays hosts to Myanmar’s Shan United at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

Denied of a chance to qualify for the AFC Champions League, the Busmen have set their sights on trying to bounce back from last year’s disappointment beginning with the 7:30 p.m. match against the visitors.

The two-time domestic champions saw their Champions League bid end early when they fell 2-1 to Myanmar’s Yangon United at home last month.

Coach Risko Vidakovic’s side is now aiming to atone for its loss to Singapore’s Home United in the ASEAN Zonal Finals of last year’s AFC Cup with a retooled lineup.

Joining the squad are Mahir Karic of Bosnia, Azkals defender Alvaro Silva, Dennis Villanueva and Junjun Badelic.

But the Busmen will still rely on their key players Bienvenido Maranon, Stephan Schrock, Mike Ott, Manuel “Super” Herrera and Carli de Murga in order to secure the maximum three points. Ting Chou. Liu placed second to amateur Chia Yen Yu in the Party Golfer Ladies Open but pocketed the top purse in the first LPGT co-sanctioned event in Taiwan last October.

Also looming large in the 54-hole championship, featuring world No. 2 Sung Hyun Park of South Korea and the country’s top guns, are No. 8 Hsin Lee, ninth ranked Tzu Chi Lin, No. 12 Chia Pei Lee and No. 15 Yu Ning Huang.

Ching Huang, who bested the fancied Thai troika of Renuka Suksukont, Pannapa Polnamin and Supamas Sangchan in last year’s LGPT-TLPGA Champion Tour at Tagaytay Midlands, is also in the fold.