The Rimyongsu Club from the People's Republic of Korea and Tatung FC from Chinese – Taipei arrived yesterday at the Bacolod –Silay Airport to complete the four-team cast of the Asian Football Confederation President's Cup 2014 Group B Qualifier at the Panaad Park and Sports Stadium in Bacolod City.
From May 6 to 10, the four teams will battle each other for the top spot in Group B and advance to the finals in September.
All four teams are strong, said David Shan-Juh Chang, secretary-general of Tatung FC, and like the other squads they are expecting to advance into the finals.
While the Chinese-Taipei team is very young, he said several of them are members of national team. Consulting with the head coach of Tatung FC, Chang said they will play with a 4-5-1 format to put more emphasis on defense.
For Jong Sang Hoe, media officer of the Rimyongsu Club, their chances of advancing into the finals will depend on the abilities of their players.
He said it is anybody's game and all the teams have an edge and the chance to win.
Earlier, the HTTU FC from Turkmenistan echoed the same sentiment as coach Rowsen Meredov said it will be tough and interesting tournament.
Coming to Bacolod ahead of the two other international teams, Meredov said they will have time to acclimatize with the environment, although Turkmenistan has an equally warm weather but less humid.
All set for the battle is the host team Ceres-La Salle FC who have been buffing up for the tournament and will be tapping the strength of homegrown talents from Negros, Iloilo and Cebu as well as the Fil-foreign recruits from the national team, the Azkals.
Ceres-La Salle FC head coach Ali Go said they are ready to give each game all that they have for the pride and glory of Negros and the Philippines.
He also appealed to the Negrense community and the neighboring provinces to come to the Panaad on May 6, 8 and 10 to cheer and support for the host team.
In tomorrow's double header, Ceres-La Salle FC will face Rimyongsu (PRK) at 5 p.m., followed by the match between HTTU FC (Tkm) and Tatung Company (Tpe), at 7:30 p.m.
On May 8, Rimyongsu and HTTU will play at 5 p.m. followed by the matchup between Tatung and Ceres – La Salle at 7:30 p.m.
The final day, May 10, will have Ceres against HTTU at 5 p.m. and Tatung against Rimyongsu at 7:30 p.m.*NAB
Visayan Daily Star
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