By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games proved to be a tough one for the Philippines as it ended up in sixth place in the 11-nation field with 24 gold medals to show for, missing its target of winning at least 50.

But while Team Philippines had it rough in the biennial regional sports meet, some bright spots emerged, one of which is the country’s gold-winning ice hockey team.

Played in the SEA Games for the first time, the Philippine ice hockey team proved itself to be a groundbreaker as it showed dominance throughout the duration of the competition, a showing fondly referred to by local media outfits as the “Miracle on Ice.”

The Philippines completed a sweep of its four-game assignment, beating Indonesia, 12-0, in the opener before following it up with 7-2 and 8-7 victories over Singapore and host Malaysia, respectively, in the round-robin phase.

It capped its performance by edging Thailand, 5-4, in a thrilling final match that earned it the gold medal.

Forward Paul Sanchez emerged as the competition’s top scorer with 14 points, with teammates Steven Fuglister (11), Lenard Rigel Lancero II (9) and Carl Michael Montano (7) figuring in the top 10.

Goaltender Gianpietro Issepi was top in his position with a 91.67% save percentage and teammate Paolo Spafford (88.14%) at third.

With the Federation of Ice Hockey League, Inc. (FIHL), the local federation for the sport still in its formative years, members of the team underscored the importance of winning the gold in the SEA Games as a way of creating awareness for the sport which they hope would eventually inspire more Filipinos to pick it up.

“It’s very important for us to win the gold especially since ours is a young federation in the country. Every positive news we can get is a big help in what we are trying to do for the group and the sport in general. Had we not won I don’t think we would be getting the same attention that we are getting now. Hopefully we were able to inspire people, especially kids, to take up the sport,” said team captain Fuglister in an interview with BusinessWorld days upon their return from their SEA Games conquest.

“Ice hockey is a team sport. You really have to work as a group. We showed that it is something that we can excel in provided we put in the work and put our hearts into it,” added Filipino-Swiss Fuglister.

GAINING GROUND
For FIHL President Christopher Sy, to see the team continue to improve only serves to inspire them to grow more and further the development of the sport in the country.

“Ice hockey has been in the country for 10 years and there were already teams even before we put up a federation. It was not easy gathering different stakeholders but we were able to do that,” said Mr. Sy in a separate interview as he shared what they had to go through as a group.

“We understand that it will take time before ice hockey is fully embraced here but the interest is there. It’s a fun and fast sport. It’s adrenaline-filled that Filipinos should really enjoy,” the FIHL added.

He went on to say that challenges persist but they hope their win in the SEA Games would give the sport the boost that it needs to develop in the Philippines.

“In ice hockey you need the rink and equipment. We have been self-funding ourselves and hopefully with the SEA Games win we were able to open the team to more people and groups for support,” said Mr. Sy even as he shared that they plan to take the sport to another level, even maybe introducing it collegiate leagues down the line to create further awareness.

Next stop for the Philippine ice hockey team is the 2018 Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia which the country is hosting in April.

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