National team player OJ Porteria sparkled with a goal and an assist as PFL champion Ceres-Negros turned back Shan United of Myanmar, 3-2, last Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the AFC Champions League preliminary round at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Porteria set up Bienve Marañon for Ceres’ second goal, before scoring what turned out to be the marginal strike in the 79th minute as the Busmen forged a duel with Port FC of Thailand in the next round in Bangkok.
Admittedly short on preparation, the Busmen came out sharp with Senegalese striker Robert Lopez Mendy opening the scoring in the fifth minute with a left-footed effort to the bottom corner off a cutback from new signing Pika Minegishi.
“We were pressuring them and we were unlucky not to get more goals,” said Porteria. “We only had four or five training sessions so we were really tired but we just stuck in there and got the win. We’re not fit thats why we wanted to keep the ball. We just showed the heart to survive the game.”
Despite their dominance, the Busmen only grabbed their second goal just before halftime as Marañon’s deflected effort had Shan goalkeeper Thiha Sithu rooted to his spot.
The Busmen looked like they were in cruise control, although Mendy spurned a breakaway chance and Porteria was denied by the crossbar with his long-range effort.
Zin Min Tun pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute, but Porteria quickly restored the two-goal cushion by meeting Mike Ott’s pass inside the box to fire home.
Maximin Djawa set the stage for a thrilling finish as his 87th-minute strike made it 3-2. But Ceres hung on to pick up the victory, moving within two wins of reaching the group stage of Asia’s most prestigious club competition.
