MANILA -- Ceres Negros and Kaya Iloilo already found their opponents in their respective Asian Football Confederation Cup groups following the group draw on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur.
Negros, the reigning Philippines Football League champion, was drawn to Group G with Vietnamese club Becamex Binh Duong, Burmese side Shan United, and the eventual champion of Indonesia's Go-Jek Liga 1.
Iloilo, on the other hand, will be in Group H with the Liga 1 runner-up, Home United of Singapore, and Lao Toyota of Laos.
Currently, PSM Makassar leads Liga 1 with 54 points, while Persija Jakarta is second with 53 points with three matches left in their respective schedules.
Davao Aguilas, however, were also keen observers of the said group draw as they could take over the place of Negros should the latter make the AFC Champions League group stages.
Negros will take part in the AFCCL qualifiers, hosting Yangon United on Feb. 5 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod.
The winner of the match will travel to Chiangrai, Thailand to meet Chiangrai United the following week.
The winner of the second round match will take on theJapanese in the final qualifying game on Feb. 19, with the winner heading to the group stages.
Also in the running for an AFC Cup spot as standby teams should this year's Liga 1 champ also make the AFC Champions League group stages are Persib and defending Liga 1 champ Bhyangkara, which are currently tied in third place with 49 points. (PNA)
