2019 Ceres–Negros F.C. season

The 2019 season was Ceres–Negros Football Club's 8th season in existence and the club's 3rd consecutive season in the top flight of Philippine football. In addition to the Philippines Football League, the club competed in the Copa Paulino Alcantara, the AFC Cup, and the first preliminary round of the AFC Champions League. Competitive matches were played from February 5 to November 16, 2019. Ceres–Negros won the Philippines Football League for the third successive season, this time without a single defeat – a record of 22 wins and 2 draws, which included a 17-game winning streak. They also won the Copa Paulino Alcantara unbeaten, completing the domestic double without a single defeat in domestic competitions. The club was less successful in Asian competitions: after losing the first preliminary round of the AFC Champions League, they were transferred to the AFC Cup where they topped their group but were eliminated in the ASEAN Zonal semi-final. Ceres had only 3 losses overall.

Ceres–Negros

2019 season
Ceres–Negros players celebrating their third consecutive PFL title
Chairman	Leo Rey V. Yanson
Head Coach	Risto Vidaković
Stadium	Panaad Stadium
Philippines Football League	Winners
Copa Paulino Alcantara	Winners
AFC Champions League	Preliminary round 1
AFC Cup	ASEAN Zone Semi-final
Top goalscorer	League: Bienvenido Marañón (30) All: Bienvenido Marañón (40)
Biggest win	0–13 (Aug 28 v Global Makati, PFL Round 15)
Biggest defeat	1–2 (Feb 5 v Yangon United, ACL qualifying) 0–1 (May 15 v Becamex Binh Duong, AFC Cup group) 2–1 (Jun 25 v Hà Nội, AFC Cup ASEAN SF)
Home colors Away colors Third colors
← 2018 2020 →
All statistics correct as of November 17, 2019.

Martin Steuble, who was club captain since 2017, left the club in July and was succeeded by Carli de Murga. The main additions to the team were striker Robert Lopez Mendy, and midfielders James Younghusband and Takashi Odawara. Ceres also signed defender Álvaro Silva, who played for the club from February to June.

Ceres–Negros players also won individual awards: Bienvenido Marañón was the 2019 AFC Cup top scorer while Stephan Schröck won the PFL Golden Ball. In the Copa Paulino Alcantara, Robert Lopez Mendy won the Golden Boot while Takashi Odawara won the Golden Ball. Goalkeeper Roland Müller won the Golden Glove in both the PFL and Copa Paulino Alcantara.

In July, the club's future became uncertain when club owner and chairman, Leo Rey Yanson, was ousted as president and CEO of Vallacar Transit by his brother Roy. As the new president, Roy Yanson did not like to invest the company's money into the football club, though Leo Rey insisted that he spends his personal money for the club. On August 11, Leo Rey regained control of the company.

Season overview

After winning their second consecutive league title in the previous season, Ceres–Negros participated in the qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Champions League.^[1] However, before the competitions began, veteran players Patrick Reichelt and Manuel Ott left the club.^[2] The notable pre-season signing was Philippines national team defender Álvaro Silva, who previously played under Risto Vidaković at Cádiz.^[3] On February 5, Ceres began their campaign by hosting Myanmar National League champions Yangon United for the preliminary round 1, to whom they lost 2–1. As such, they were relegated to the group stage of the AFC Cup, the second-tier competition of Asian club football.^[1][4]

In the AFC Cup, Ceres–Negros were in Group G alongside Vietnamese Cup winners Becamex Bình Dương, Myanmar National League runners-up Shan United, and Indonesian Liga 1 champions Persija Jakarta.^[5] Ceres topped their group by winning all but one of their group matches, losing their last match—at home to Becamex Bình Dương 1–0.^[6][7] Their notable group match was the comeback win away to Persija Jakarta on April 23. After a goalless first half, Ceres were down by two goals at the 57th minute until Miguel Tanton and Bienvenido Marañón managed to equalize. Mike Ott then scored the winning goal in injury time, ending the match 3–2.^[8]

In the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals, Ceres faced V.League 1 champions Hà Nội who topped Group F.^[9] The first leg, played at Panaad on June 18, ended in a 1–1 draw.^[10] Ceres went on to lose the second leg in Hanoi on June 25, with a score of 2–1 (3–2 on aggregate), thus failing to make their third consecutive ASEAN Zonal final.^[11] Although they were eliminated, Bienvenido Marañón was awarded as AFC Cup top scorer at the end of the season, with 10 goals in eight matches.^[12]

In the domestic level, Ceres were supposed to participate in the Philippine Premier League (PPL)—the new top-tier league as the Philippines Football League (PFL) was dissolved after the troubled 2018 season, which Ceres won.^[13] However, the PPL was also plagued with numerous issues, with Stallion Laguna and Global Makati withdrawing a day before the season commenced. Ceres later withdrew after the first matchday (in which they were not scheduled to play), and later the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) decided to withdraw its sanction of the PPL thus dissolving the league.^[14]

The PFF then decided to revive the PFL for a third season.^[15] Ceres' opening PFL fixture was at the Rizal Memorial Stadium against Stallion Laguna on May 25, which ended in a 2–2 draw.^[16] On May 29, they earned their first league win of the season at the expense of debutants Philippine Air Force, 5–0.^[17] The next day, Kevin Ingreso left the club; he played three and a half years with Ceres.^[18] On June 28, notable pre-season signing Álvaro Silva announced his surprise departure.^[19] While on July 4, Martin Steuble, who captained Ceres since 2017, left the club to join Port of the Thai League 1.^[20][21] Despite the loss of several key players, Ceres continued to win their matches with Carli de Murga as the new captain.^[22] They notably thrashed Philippine Air Force 12–0 on July 13, the league's largest home win of the season.^[23]

In the midseason transfer window, Ceres made three notable signings: Senegalese striker Robert Lopez Mendy, who was the PFL's top scorer in 2018 with Kaya–Iloilo,^[24] Philippines national team midfielder James Younghusband, and Japanese midfielder Takashi Odawara.^[25] On August 28, Ceres thrashed Global Makati 13–0 away, the league's largest margin of victory in the season.^[26] On September 28, a 1–1 draw with Stallion Laguna ended Ceres' winning streak at 17 games.^[27] After winning the subsequent fixtures, Ceres secured their third consecutive league title by defeating Green Archers United 3–1 on October 12, with two matches to spare.^[28] After winning the two remaining games, Ceres completed a historic unbeaten season with a total of 22 wins and 2 draws (68 points).^[29][30] Goalkeeper Roland Müller won the season's Golden Glove while midfielder Stephan Schröck won the Golden Ball. With 30 goals, striker Bienvenido Marañón was the Golden Boot runner-up behind Kaya's Jordan Mintah, who scored 31.^[29]

After failing to progress from the group stage in 2018, Ceres were determined to win the 2019 edition of the Copa Paulino Alcantara.^[31][32] They were drawn in Group A alongside Mendiola, Green Archers United, and Philippines U22 (who are participating in preparation for the Southeast Asian Games^[33]).^[34] In their first group match, they were held to a 2–2 draw by Mendiola.^[35] This was followed by wins over the two other clubs as Ceres topped the group.^[36] In the semi-finals, they defeated Group B runners-up Stallion Laguna 4–3 to earn their first ever finals appearance.^[37][38] On November 16, Ceres faced defending champions Kaya–Iloilo in the final. Ceres won the match 2–1, completing their domestic double.^[39][40] Ceres won the final despite having only 14 players available in their squad, as the others were either resting or on international duty. Head coach Risto Vidaković was also absent for the final, thus it was assistant coach Jooc Treyes who managed the team.^[40] The Copa's individual awards were all won by Ceres players: striker Robert Lopez Mendy, who scored five goals in the tournament, won the Golden Boot, goalkeeper Roland Müller won the Golden Glove, and midfielder Takashi Odawara won the Golden Ball for his defensive performances.^[41][42] With the Copa win, Ceres finished their 2019 season without a single defeat in domestic competitions.^[42]

Ownership crisis

On July 7, Ceres–Negros' owner and chairman, Leo Rey Yanson, was ousted as president and CEO of Vallacar Transit in a boardroom coup led by his older brother Roy and supported by three of his other siblings. In a statement, Leo Rey called the move "illegal" and refused to recognize it, saying: "The removal was only done through a special meeting of which the election/removal of the president was not even included in the agenda."^[43] As the new president, Roy Yanson accused Leo Rey of using the company's funds for the football team, adding that players who are "just simply kicking the ball" are earning more than the Vallacar Transit employees. Leo Rey defended the football club and denied the accusation, insisting that he funds the team using his own money, saying: "I don't need to justify how much I'm spending for the club because it's my own personal money." Leo Rey also spent for the refurbishment of the Panaad Stadium, the club's home ground.^[44] Nonetheless, the Yanson siblings' battle for control of the company made the team's future uncertain. The football players expressed their support for Leo Rey, with Stephan Schröck saying: "He's been there for us not only as an owner or manager or benefactor. He was, for the longest time for us, a friend almost like a dad to everyone at the club. We owe him."^[45] On August 11, Leo Rey regained control of the company's headquarters in Bacolod with the help of his sister Ginnette, mother Olivia, and the Philippine National Police.^[46]

Players

Squad information

As it stands on November 16, 2019

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Notes
1	GK		Roland Müller	Second nationality:
2	DF		Sean Kane
4	DF		Súper
5	MF		Mike Ott	Second nationality:
6	FW		Charles Ivan Barberan
7	MF		Bienvenido Marañón
8	FW		Miguel Tanton	Second nationality:
9	MF		Takashi Odawara
10	MF		OJ Porteria	Second nationality:
11	MF		Tristan Kit Robles
12	MF		Stephan Schröck	Second nationality:
13	DF		Dennis Villanueva
14	DF		Carli de Murga (captain)	Second nationality:
16	MF		Dylan de Bruycker	Second nationality:
17	DF		Junior Muñoz	Second nationality:
18	DF		Joshua Dutosme
23	MF		James Younghusband	Second nationality:
24	GK		Florencio Badelic Jr.
25	GK		Ronilo Bayan Jr.
28	DF		Jeffrey Christiaens	Second nationality:
30	MF		Angélo Marasigan
71	FW		Robert Lopez Mendy

Transfers

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

In

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	From	Type	Ref.
Pre-season
January 21, 2019	MF		Dylan de Bruycker	21	Davao Aguilas	Free transfer	[47]
January 21, 2019	MF		Angélo Marasigan	26	Global Cebu	Free transfer	[47]
January 21, 2019	MF		Miguel Tanton	29	Kaya–Iloilo	Free transfer	[47]
January 21, 2019	DF		Dennis Villanueva	26	Davao Aguilas	Free transfer	[47]
January 29, 2019	GK		Ronilo Bayan Jr.	24	Davao Aguilas	Free transfer	[48][49]
January 29, 2019	DF		Álvaro Silva	34	Kedah	Free transfer	[50][49]
February 21, 2019	GK		Florencio "Jun" Badelic Jr.	24	Global Cebu	Free transfer	[51]
February 21, 2019	FW		Mahir Karić	32	Olimpik	Free transfer	[51]
Mid-season
July 19, 2019	FW		Robert Lopez Mendy	32	Uitm		[52]
July 2019	FW		Charles Barberan		University of St. La Salle		[52]
July 2019	MF		Tristan Robles		University of St. La Salle		[52]
August 2019	MF		Takashi Odawara	26	Unattached	Free transfer	[53]
August 15, 2019	MF		James Younghusband	32	Unattached	Free transfer	[25]

Out

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	To	Type	Ref.
Pre-season
January 23, 2019	MF		Manuel Ott	26	Ratchaburi Mitr Phol	Free transfer	[2][54]
January 23, 2019	FW		Patrick Reichelt	30	Melaka United	Free transfer	[2]
January 29, 2019	DF		Jerry Barbaso	30	Unattached		[47]
January 29, 2019	GK		Toni Doblas	38	Unattached		[48]
February 20, 2019	DF		Amani Aguinaldo	23	PKNP	Loan out	[55]
	GK		Eduard Sacapaño		Retired
Mid-season
May 30, 2019	MF		Kevin Ingreso	26	Buriram United	Transfer	[18]
June 28, 2019	DF		Álvaro Silva	35	Suphanburi	Transfer	[19][56]
July 4, 2019	DF		Martin Steuble	31	Port	Transfer	[20]
July 17, 2019	FW		Curt Dizon	25	Chonburi	Transfer	[57]
July 2019	FW		Mahir Karić	32	Radnik Bijeljina	Released	[52]
August 15, 2019	MF		Omid Nazari	28	Persib Bandung	Transfer	[58]
	MF		Paul Mulders	38	Unattached	Released
	FW		Blake Powell	28	Unattached	Released

Kits

Supplier: Grand Sport / Sponsor: Ceres Liner

Home

Away

Alternate 1

Alternate 2

Alternate 3

Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

Competitions

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Philippines Football League	May 25, 2019	October 19, 2019	Matchday 1	Winners	24	22	2	0	99	12	+87	091.67
Copa Paulino Alcantara	October 26, 2019	November 16, 2019	Group stage	Winners	5	4	1	0	14	7	+7	080.00
AFC Cup	February 26, 2019	June 25, 2019	Group stage	ASEAN Zonal Semi-final	8	5	1	2	17	9	+8	062.50
AFC Champions League	February 5, 2019	February 5, 2019	Preliminary round 1	Preliminary round 1	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Total					38	31	4	3	131	30	+101	081.58

Last updated: February 20, 2020
Source: Competitions

Philippines Football League

Main article: 2019 Philippines Football League

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Ceres–Negros (C)	24	22	2	0	99	12	+87	68	Qualification for AFC Champions League preliminary round 1[a]
2	Kaya–Iloilo	24	18	2	4	60	16	+44	56	Qualification for AFC Cup group stage[b]
3	Stallion Laguna	24	11	6	7	54	25	+29	39
4	Green Archers United	24	10	5	9	42	37	+5	35
5	Mendiola 1991	24	6	5	13	34	54	−20	23

Source: PFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. If the league champions cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage, they will enter the AFC Cup group stage.
2. Since league champions Ceres–Negros were also Copa Paulino Alcantara winners, the league runners-up qualified for the AFC Cup group stage.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
24	22	2	0	99	12	+87	68	11	1	0	47	4	+43	11	1	0	52	8	+44

Last updated: October 19, 2019.
Source: http://pfl.org.ph/ PFL]

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A
Result	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W
Position	3	2	1	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Updated to match(es) played on October 19, 2019. Source: PFL
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Ceres–Negros v Stallion Laguna

May 25, 2019 (2019-05-25) 1	Ceres–Negros	2–2	Stallion Laguna	Manila
19:00 UTC+8	Steuble 25' Marañón 53'		Sy 5' De Murga 53' (o.g.)	Stadium: Rizal Memorial Stadium

Philippine Air Force v Ceres–Negros

May 29, 2019 (2019-05-29) 2	Philippine Air Force	0–5	Ceres–Negros	Manila
16:00 UTC+8			Marañón 15', 76', 82' Dizon 20', 81'	Stadium: Rizal Memorial Stadium

Global Makati v Ceres–Negros

June 1, 2019 (2019-06-01) 3	Global Makati	0–8	Ceres–Negros	Carmona
15:30 UTC+8			Marañón 9', 13', 33', 81' Mi. Ott 45+2' Karić 74', 89' Christiaens 89'	Stadium: PFF National Training Centre

Ceres–Negros v Mendiola

June 29, 2019 (2019-06-29) 4	Ceres–Negros	4–0	Mendiola	Manila
16:00 UTC+8	Marañón 2', 79' Zabala 29' (o.g.) Dizon 65'			Stadium: Rizal Memorial Stadium

Green Archers United v Ceres–Negros

July 3, 2019 (2019-07-03) 5	Green Archers United	3–4	Ceres–Negros	Carmona
15:30 UTC+8	Ariola 12', 40', 54'		Porteria 5' Schröck 6' Gumban 18' (o.g.) Marañón 37'	Stadium: PFF National Training Centre

Stallion Laguna v Ceres–Negros

July 6, 2019 (2019-07-06)	Stallion Laguna	v	Ceres–Negros	Biñan
15:30 UTC+8				Stadium: Biñan Football Stadium
Note: Postponed due to unplayable conditions caused by heavy rain.[59]

Ceres–Negros v Kaya–Iloilo

July 10, 2019 (2019-07-10) 6	Ceres–Negros	2–1	Kaya–Iloilo	Carmona
15:30 UTC+8	Marañón 68', 71'		Bedic 62'	Stadium: PFF National Training Centre

Ceres–Negros v Philippine Air Force

July 13, 2019 (2019-07-13) 7	Ceres–Negros	12–0	Philippine Air Force	Carmona
15:30 UTC+8	Marañón 4', 42', 45' Tanton 7' Schröck 9', 22', 85' Dizon 69' Mi. Ott 76', 78', 87', 88'			Stadium: PFF National Training Centre

Ceres–Negros v Global Makati

July 17, 2019 (2019-07-17) 8	Ceres–Negros	3–0a Awarded	Global Makati	Carmona
15:30 UTC+8				Stadium: PFF National Training Centre

Ceres–Negros v Green Archers United

July 21, 2019 (2019-07-21) 9	Ceres–Negros	2–0	Green Archers United	Carmona
15:30 UTC+8	Lobe 7' (o.g.) Mi. Ott 28'			Stadium: PFF National Training Centre

Ceres–Negros v Kaya–Iloilo

August 3, 2019 (2019-08-03) 10	Ceres–Negros	1–0	Kaya–Iloilo	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Porteria 16'			Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Mendiola v Ceres–Negros

August 10, 2019 (2019-08-10) 11	Mendiola	2–5	Ceres–Negros	Lipa
16:00 UTC+8	Sendra 10' Flores 49'		Lopez Mendy 16', 36', 44', 55' Marañón 90' (pen.)	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Ceres–Negros v Stallion Laguna

August 14, 2019 (2019-08-14) 12	Ceres–Negros	5–0	Stallion Laguna	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Marañón 32', 88' Mi. Ott 35' De Murga 38' Lopez Mendy 64'			Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Philippine Air Force v Ceres–Negros

August 17, 2019 (2019-08-17) 13	Philippine Air Force	0–3	Ceres–Negros	Lipa
16:00 UTC+8			Súper 15' De Bruycker 34' Lopez Mendy 59'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Mendiola v Ceres–Negros

August 21, 2019 (2019-08-21) 14	Mendiola	1–4	Ceres–Negros	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Angeles 30'		Mi. Ott 17', 60' Lopez Mendy 22', 41'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Global Makati v Ceres–Negros

August 28, 2019 (2019-08-28) 15	Global Makati	0–13	Ceres–Negros	Lipa
16:00 UTC+8			Marañón 20', 59', 80', 88' Schröck 25' Lopez Mendy 30', 56', 79' Mi. Ott 40', 45', 65' Odawara 51' J. Younghusband 88'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Ceres–Negros v Philippine Air Force

September 14, 2019 (2019-09-14) 16	Ceres–Negros	7–0	Philippine Air Force	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Marañón 32' Porteria 35' Lopez Mendy 39', 72', 75' Mi. Ott 85' Villanueva 87'			Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Kaya–Iloilo v Ceres–Negros

September 18, 2019 (2019-09-18) 17	Kaya–Iloilo	0–2	Ceres–Negros	Biñan
15:30 UTC+8			Mi. Ott 15' Porteria 30'	Stadium: Biñan Football Stadium

Stallion Laguna v Ceres–Negros

September 22, 2019 (2019-09-22) 18	Stallion Laguna	0–2	Ceres–Negros	Biñan
15:30 UTC+8			Marañón 53' Lopez Mendy 53'	Stadium: Biñan Football Stadium

Stallion Laguna v Ceres–Negros

September 28, 2019 (2019-09-28) 19	Stallion Laguna	1–1	Ceres–Negros	Biñan
15:30 UTC+8	Sy 7'		Lopez Mendy 4'	Stadium: Biñan Football Stadium

Green Archers United v Ceres–Negros

October 2, 2019 (2019-10-02) 20	Green Archers United	1–2	Ceres–Negros	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Celiz 72'		Lopez Mendy 2' Porteria 78'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Ceres–Negros v Global Makati

October 6, 2019 (2019-10-06) 21	Ceres–Negros	3–0a Awarded	Global Makati	Biñan
19:00 UTC+8				Stadium: Biñan Football Stadium

Ceres–Negros v Green Archers United

October 12, 2019 (2019-10-12) 22	Ceres–Negros	3–1	Green Archers United	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Marasigan 50' Marañón 81', 87'		Celiz 24'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Ceres–Negros v Mendiola

October 14, 2019 (2019-10-14) 23	Ceres–Negros	3–0	Mendiola	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Odawara 2' Marañón 35', 74'			Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Kaya–Iloilo v Ceres–Negros

October 19, 2019 (2019-10-19) 24	Kaya–Iloilo	0–3	Ceres–Negros	Lipa
16:00 UTC+8			Porteria 73' Marañón 90' Younghusband 90+3'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Note:

a ^ Global forfeited the match due to an inability to field a team. The result was 0-3 in favor of Ceres.

Copa Paulino Alcantara

Main article: 2019 Copa Paulino Alcantara

Group stage

On October 20, Ceres–Negros were drawn in Group A of the Copa Paulino Alcantara alongside Mendiola, Green Archers United, and Philippines U22.^[34]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		CER	MEN	U22	GAU
1	Ceres–Negros	3	2	1	0	8	3	+5	7	Semi-finals		—	2–2	—	4–0
2	Mendiola	3	1	2	0	5	4	+1	5			—	—	2–2	1–0
3	Philippines U22	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4			1–2	—	—	—
4	Green Archers United	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0			—	—	0–1	—

Source: PFL

Ceres–Negros v Mendiola

October 26, 2019 (2019-10-26) 1	Ceres–Negros	2–2	Mendiola	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Lopez Mendy 4', 31'		Hajimehdi 45+1' Corsame 64'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Philippines U22 v Ceres–Negros

October 30, 2019 (2019-10-30) 2	Philippines U22	1–2	Ceres–Negros	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	Gallantes 30'		De Bruycker 61' Lopez Mendy 86'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Ceres–Negros v Green Archers United

November 6, 2019 (2019-11-06) 3	Ceres–Negros	4–0	Green Archers United	Lipa
19:00 UTC+8	J. Younghusband 16' Mi. Ott 68' Barberan 80' Lopez Mendy 82'			Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

Ceres–Negros v Stallion Laguna

10 November 2019 (2019-11-10) Semi-final	Ceres–Negros	4–3	Stallion Laguna	Lipa
16:00 UTC+8	Schrock 18', 69' Mi. Ott 29', 77'		Najm 9' Sy 15' Melliza 85'	Stadium: Aboitiz Pitch

Final

Main article: 2019 Copa Paulino Alcantara Final

Ceres–Negros v Kaya–Iloilo

16 November 2019 (2019-11-16) Final	Ceres–Negros	2–1	Kaya–Iloilo	Biñan
17:00 UTC+8	Lopez Mendy 30' Robles 68'		Daniels 85'	Stadium: Biñan Football Stadium

AFC Champions League

Main article: 2019 AFC Champions League

Qualifying play-offs

Main article: 2019 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs

Ceres–Negros v Yangon United

February 5, 2019 (2019-02-05) Preliminary round 1	Ceres–Negros	1–2	Yangon United	Bacolod
19:30 8:00	Schröck 44'	Live Report Stats Report	Miller 29' Kaung Htet Soe 59'	Stadium: Panaad Stadium Attendance: 7,029 Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)

AFC Cup

Main article: 2019 AFC Cup

Group stage

Main article: 2019 AFC Cup group stage

The group stage draw was held on November 22, 2018, at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ceres–Negros were drawn in Group G alongside Vietnamese Cup winners Becamex Bình Dương, Myanmar National League runners-up Shan United, and Indonesian Liga 1 champions Persija Jakarta.^[60]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		CER	BBD	PSJ	SHA
1	Ceres–Negros	6	5	0	1	15	6	+9	15	Zonal semi-finals		—	0–1	1–0	3–2
2	Becamex Bình Dương	6	4	1	1	13	5	+8	13			1–3	—	3–1	6–0
3	Persija Jakarta	6	2	1	3	12	9	+3	7			2–3	0–0	—	6–1
4	Shan United	6	0	0	6	5	25	−20	0			0–5	1–2	1–3	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Ceres–Negros v Shan United

February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26) Matchday 1	Ceres–Negros	3–2	Shan United	Bacolod
19:30 UTC+8	Porteria 19', 87' Marañón 37' (pen.)	Live Report Stats Report	Zin Min Tun 50' Dway Ko Ko Chit 88'	Stadium: Panaad Stadium Attendance: 5,748 Referee: Yaqoub Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)

Becamex Bình Dương v Ceres–Negros

March 12, 2019 (2019-03-12) Matchday 2	Becamex Bình Dương	1–3	Ceres–Negros	Thủ Dầu Một
18:00 UTC+7	Luiz 72'	Live Report Stats Report	Marañón 26', 74', 78'	Stadium: Gò Đậu Stadium Attendance: 3,300 Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

Ceres–Negros v Persija Jakarta

April 3, 2019 (2019-04-03) Matchday 3	Ceres–Negros	1–0	Persija Jakarta	Bacolod
19:30 UTC+8	Marañón 9'	Live Report Stats Report		Stadium: Panaad Park and Stadium Attendance: 5,878 Referee: Vahid Kazemi (Iran)

Persija Jakarta v Ceres–Negros

April 23, 2019 (2019-04-23) [note 1] Matchday 4	Persija Jakarta	2–3	Ceres–Negros	Jakarta
16:00 UTC+6:30	Sandi 49' Matos 57'	Live Report Stats Report	Tanton 70' Marañón 85' Ott 90+2'	Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Attendance: 26,923 Referee: Sherzod Kasimov (Uzbekistan)

Shan United v Ceres–Negros

May 1, 2019 (2019-05-01) Matchday 5	Shan United	0–5	Ceres–Negros	Yangon
15:30 UTC+6:30		Live Report Stats Report	Marañón 38', 43' (pen.), 71' De Murga 80' Porteria 85'	Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium Attendance: 420 Referee: Liu Kwok Man (Hong Kong)

Ceres–Negros v Becamex Bình Dương

May 15, 2019 (2019-05-15) Matchday 6	Ceres–Negros	0–1	Becamex Bình Dương	Bacolod
20:00 UTC+8		Live Report Stats Report	Luiz 88'	Stadium: Panaad Park and Stadium Attendance: 5,347 Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)

Knockout stage

Main article: 2019 AFC Cup knockout stage

ASEAN Zonal Semifinal

Ceres–Negros v Hà Nội

June 18, 2019 (2019-06-18) First leg	Ceres–Negros	1–1	Hà Nội	Bacolod
19:30 UTC+8	Marañón 57'	Live Report Stats Report	Faye 67'	Stadium: Panaad Park and Stadium Attendance: 6,007 Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)

Hà Nội v Ceres–Negros

June 25, 2019 (2019-06-25) Second leg	Hà Nội	2–1 (3–2 agg.)	Ceres–Negros	Hanoi
15:30 UTC+6:30	Faye 59' Nguyễn Văn Quyết 64'	Live Report Stats Report	Dizon 85'	Stadium: Hàng Đẫy Stadium Attendance: 4,839 Referee: Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)

Hà Nội won 3–2 on aggregate.

Notes

1. The Persija Jakarta v Ceres–Negros match was rescheduled from the original date of 16 April to 23 April due to its proximity to the general election held in Indonesia the next day.