Ceres-Negros FC plays first qualifier next month

Three-time Philippines Football League champions Ceres-Negros FC return to the AFC Champions League qualifying playoffs next month, where they will kick off their campaign against 2019 Myanmar National League champions Shan United FC on January 14.
The face-off is a rematch of last year’s qualifying playoffs, where the two also met in the first preliminary round. Ceres won 1-1 (4-3) on penalty kicks and followed it up by defeating A-League club Brisbane Roar, 3-2, in the second preliminary round. However, in the playoff round, one step away from making the Champions League group stage, the Negrense club fell 2-0 to Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian FC.
The winner will then play Port FC, who finished third in the 2019 Thai League 1, in the second preliminary round. Subsequently, the winner of that match then meets FC Tokyo, the 2019 J1 League runners-up, in the playoff round.
During this year’s qualifying playoffs, Ceres FC was eliminated in the first preliminary round after losing 2-1 to Yangon United FC of Myanmar.
If the Bacolod City-based club is eliminated during the qualifiers, they are already slated to compete in the 2020 AFC Cup, where they are already drawn in Group G alongside Than Quang Ninh of Vietnam’s V.League 1 and Bali United FC, this year’s Liga 1 champions.
The fourth spot in the group will be determined by a playoff between Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC, Taiwan Power Company FC, and Ulaanbaatar City FC of Mongolia./ASC, WDJ