They made their first appearance in the AFC Champions League qualifying playoff winning over Burmese club Shan United and securing an upset victory against Australian side Brisbane Roar. They failed to progress to the tournament proper after they were knocked off by Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian.
Source: Philippines Football League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal Difference; 3) Goals Scored (C) Champions Notes:
^Three points were deducted from Stallion Laguna due to the club's failure to comply with Liga Futbol Inc. Disciplinary Committee’s Decision No. 010318DC03.[1]
^Three points were deducted from JPV Marikina due to the club's failure to comply with Liga Futbol Inc. Disciplinary Committee’s Decision No. 010318DC02.[2]
Ceres–Negros started their AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs with a match against Burmese side, Shan United.[4] Prior to the match, Ceres-Negros only had three training sessions.[5] Ceres-Negros won over Shan United on penalties.[4]
They went on to face Australian club Brisbane Roar which was at that time had already played 17 games of the 2017-18 A-League season and was ranked 7th in the league table. For about five minutes in the second half, Brisbane player Eric Bauteac had to be pulled off the pitch after his kit number peeled off. He was allowed to return to the pitch after the numbers were fixed.[6] Ceres-Negros won 3–2 over Brisbane Roar a result which was considered as an upset leading to calls for the resignation of the Australian side's coach John Aloisi.[7][8]
Ceres-Negros had to deal with visa issues prior to their match against Tianjin Quanjian in China. The club appealed to the Asian Football Confederation to delay the match so the clubs may be "on equal footing" and make consideration on the basis the Ceres' players are "coming from another continent" but such request was not granted. The club only had their Chinese visas for their players processed in the afternoon of January 29, the day prior to match day, and left for Tianjin on the same day.[9] Ceres-Negros ended their campaign after they conceded two goals in their match against Tianjin Quanjian though their efforts were praised by PFF President Mariano Araneta. Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic was also satisfied with his players' performance.[10]
Having been knockout by Tianjin Quanjian in the 2018 AFC Champions League qualifying playoff, Ceres-Negros relegates to the 2018 AFC Cup group stage[10] where they are grouped with three other Southeast Asian teams.
Ceres-Negros ended their home match against Boeung Ket Angkor of Cambodia with a 9–0 win. This equaled the 9–0 win of Uzbek club Nasaf Qarshi over Indian club Dempo in 2011 as the match with the biggest score margin in the AFC Cup.[11]