The Philippine Ice Hockey team finished their first game of
the year by taking home the bronze medal at the Challenge Cup of Asia (CCOA).
The International Ice Hockey Foundation (IIHF)-sanctioned competition was held
at the SM Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink and marks the country’s first time to
host the regional event.
Team captain, Steven Fuglister, was named the Most Valuable
Player of the tournament with his split 14.5-second goal hit in the
Philippines’ last game against Singapore.
“We want to thank everyone for their great show of support
at this year’s Challenge Cup. Our families, friends, and fans gave us an
incredible source of strength and motivation during this run, testament to our
podium finish,” said Jonathan de Castro, the Philippine Ice Hockey Team’s new
coach.
The national team will next play at the Philippine Ice
Hockey Tournament in June. Although this will not have any direct impact to their
IIHF standing, it will further promote the sport as some of the competing teams
will come from neighboring countries.
The 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will play a big role
towards the team’s overall direction as they look to defend their gold title
and advance to the IIHF World Championships. With the Philippines as SEA Games host,
the team also looks forward to having the home crowd cheer them on.
“We are currently starting preparations for the men’s and
potentially the women’s teams for next year. Riding on our motivation from
CCOA, the coaching staff is currently breaking down film from our last game to
move forward and create the roster for the upcoming 2019 SEA Games,” de Castro added.
Future ice hockey games of the national team will be held
at SM Skating Mall of Asia, which boasts an Olympic-sized ice skating rink that
was unveiled last October 2017. SM Lifestyle Entertainment’s support for figure
skating and speed skating alongside ice hockey goes hand-in-hand with SM
Group’s vision to help and build homegrown talents.
For more updates and announcements on tournaments and
events of the Philippine Ice Hockey team, visit SM Skating’s website at
www.smskating.com or follow the official social media accounts at @smskating.
