MANILA – Ceres Negros banked on Bienvenido Marañon’s hat trick as it took down Boeung Ket of Cambodia, 4-0, in the 2018 AFC Cup group stage at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
With the victory on Wednesday night, the Negrenses remain on top of Group F with 13 points, on four wins, one draw and zero losses, and move closer to zonal semifinals.
Boeung Ket has been eliminated.
Marañon got things going for the Busmen with a conversion from a pass by Stephan Schrock in the 36th minute. A minute later, the Spaniard tallied his second goal from inside the box.
Marañon completed the hat trick early in the second half with a close range conversion from a pass by Jose Elmer Porteria.
Takumi Uesato capped off the scoring for Busmen with a shot from outside.
“Its such an honor for everyone just to represent that country and to have played that game,” said Ceres Negros’ Kevin Ingreso. “It was a roller coaster ride for all of us. It was a tough game and we managed to win it at the end.”
The Risto Vidakovic-mentored Ceres Negros will close out its group stage assignment against second placer Home United on April 25 at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City.
In Group G matches, Global Cebu pulled off a remarkable comeback against visiting FLC Thanh Hoa of Vietnam for a 3-3 deadlock in the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium here.
Trailing 3-1 early in the second half, Global Cebu quickly chopped the deficit on a Wesley Dos Santos. Darryl Roberts then drained a last minute header to tie the count at 3-3.
Global Cebu and FLC Thanh Hoa were both already out of contention from moving to the next round after Myanmar’s Yangon United scored a 3-2 escape over Bali United of Indonesia./PN
