MANILA, Philippines – Bienvenido Marañon capped off Ceres-Negros FC’s 4-0 drubbing of visiting team Svay Rieng FC in their opening game in the 2020 AFC Cup on Tuesday, February 11, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. 

The Spanish forward netted a pair of goals in the second half alone that catapulted the Bacolod-based squad to the top of the table of Group G with 3 points. 

“Yeah, I feel so happy for the score and for the goals. I think we’re doing a good job. We showed this in the Champions League and [we’re showing] it now in the AFC Cup,” Marañon said. 

Takashi Odawara sent out a warning as he opened the floodgates in the 12th minute and it was quickly doubled by Josh Grommen two minutes later. 

The Cambodians had a chance to get on the scoreline when Jean Marie Mbarga drew a foul off Grommen that brought Thiago Dos Santos to the spot, but the penalty was denied by Roland Muller. 

Marañon further stretched the lead with the help of returning veteran Manny Ott which found the back of the net in the 55th minute. 

Ceres’ leading goalscorer netted his second goal after going one-on-one with Svay Rieng keeper Aim Sovannarath and firing it towards the bottom left corner. 

The three-time Philippines Football League champion hopes to keep the top spot as it welcomes Vietnamese team Than Quang Ninh on Tuesday, February 25, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. – Rappler.com