SM Skating MOA to host Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia, April 3-8
For the very first time, the Philippines
will host the 2018 Challenge Cup of Asia, the annual
international ice hockey tournament that is sanctioned by
the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Happening from April
3-8, 2018, the Asian ice hockey tournament will be held at the SM Skating Mall
of Asia in Pasay City.
“We are very proud and excited to host, for the first time, the IIHF
Challenge Cup of Asia which has been held in different countries since it was
founded in 2008,” said Chris Sy, Federation of Ice Hockey Philippines
president.
The 2018 Challenge Cup also marks the first time that the Philippines
will compete in the men’s top division of the annual tournament among some of
the best ice hockey teams in the region.
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The Philippine Ice Hockey Team
hopes to make the country proud as it competes against Thailand, Kuwait, Mongolia, and
Singapore in the 2018 IHHF Challenge Cup of Asia at the SM Skating Mall of Asia.
All Philippine team games are scheduled for 7PM.
Riding on the momentum of its gold medal victory in the first-ever ice
hockey event of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Ice Hockey Team,
backed by the SM Group, hopes to make a podium finish in the 5-nation Challenge
Cup of Asia as it plays against Thailand on April 3, Kuwait on April 5,
Mongolia on April 6, and Singapore on April 8. All games of the Philippine team
are scheduled at 7PM.
Other Challenge Cup of Asia games will feature Singapore vs Mongolia on
April 3 (3:30PM), Mongolia vs Kuwait on April 4 (7PM), Thailand vs Singapore on
April 5 (3:3PM), Mongolia vs Thailand on April 7 (3:30PM), Kuwait vs Singapore
on April 7 (7PM), and Kuwait vs Thailand on Aril 8 (3:30PM).
During the Challenge Cup, the Olympic-size ice skating rink at the SM Skating
Mall of Asia will be the battleground of the competing ice hockey teams. It is equipped
with complete facilities such as a digital scoreboard, players’ boxes,
scorekeeper and penalty boxes, locker rooms, and a 200-seater stands located around
the rink.
“We are honored to be a part of this
wonderful opportunity to host the first official IIHF event in the country.
This shows how the Philippines can truly be at par with its Asian neighbors not
only in terms of the quality of its sports programs and athletes, but also in
the quality of its sports facilities,” said Herman
Medina-Cue, COO of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., the only company in the Philippines to carry
Olympic size ice rinks.
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