The gamewas held at Panaad Stadium in the Philippines.
The twoteams previously met in this tournament in 2017, with Hanoi drawing 1-1 at homeand losing 6-2 away.
Hanoilined up with a number of national team players and top strikers, but itwas goalkeeper Nguyen Van Cong who stood out in the first half makingthree vital saves.
Thecapital team’s defence looked weak down the wings but the hosts wereunable to take advantage.
After thebreak, Ceres Negros played on the counter-attack and theirefforts paid off with a goal in the 57th minute.
Receivinga pass from Stephan Shrock on the right wing, Bienve Maranon found spaceat the back post and headed home to beat goalie Cong.
Thisset-back seemed to wake Hanoi up, and they were quickly back on level termswhen Pham Thanh Luong, who had only just been introduced as a substitute,showed great poise to play in Pape Omar Faye who slotted home.
V.Leaguechampions Hanoi entered the semi-finals as Group F winners and thehighest-scoring team in the competition with 23 goals. While current championsof the local league, Ceres Negros topped Group G.
Hanoi will take on Ceres Negros again in the second leg at Hang Day Stadium in Hanoion June 25 with the winners set to advance to the ASEAN Zonal final.
A win ora 0-0 draw will help Hanoi make history by reaching the ASEAN Zonalfinal for the first time.
Today,Becamex Binh Duong will face PSM Makassar of Indonesia in the first leg oftheir semi-final at Go Dau Stadium in the southern province of Binh Duong.-VNS/VNA