Philippines
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationHockey Philippines
General managern/a
Head coachJuhani Ijäs
AssistantsIan McGrath
CaptainManvil Billones
Most gamesCarl Montano
Lenard Lancero (30)
Top scorerSteven Füglister (48)
Most pointsSteven Füglister (91)
Team colors       
IIHF codePHI
Ranking
Current IIHF55 Decrease 1 (28 May 2023)[1]
Highest IIHF54 (2020)
Lowest IIHF54 (2020)
First international
Philippines  10–0  Macau
(Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong; 13 September 2014)
Biggest win
Philippines  17–1  Malaysia
(Pasay, Philippines; 8 December 2019)
Biggest defeat
Thailand  10–1  Philippines
(Pasay, Philippines; 6 December 2019)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances1 (first in 2023)
Best result52nd (2023)
Asian Winter Games
Appearances1 (first in 2017)
Best result13th (2017)
IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia
Appearances2 (first in 2018)
Best result 2nd (2019)
Southeast Asian Games
Appearances2 (first in 2017)
Best result 1st (2017)
International record (W–L–T)
23–5–0
Medal record
Challenge Cup of Asia
Silver medal – second place2019 Kuala Lumpur
Bronze medal – third place2018 Pasay
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2017 Kuala LumpurTeam
Bronze medal – third place2019 PasayTeam

The Philippines national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Philippines. They are controlled by the Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL) and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 20 May 2016. Prior to that period, a national team has played in regional tournaments in Hong Kong since the 2000s.

The Philippines is currently ranked 54th in the IIHF World Ranking and have entered in the World Championship since 2023. They have played in the Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia.

History

Early history

Prior to 2008, there were no organized leagues and an unofficial Philippine national team composed of players from selected clubs participated in regional tournaments.[2] One such unofficial national team was "Manila Pilipinas" that participated at the HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament in 2005. They were second runners-up team in the Bauhinia Division, the lowest of the three divisions in the invitational tournament.[3]

Starting 2008, ice hockey in the Philippines began to gain traction.[2] The Philippine national team participated again at the 2014 edition of the HKAHC invitational tournament. The team were champions of the Silver Plate Division, the second highest division in the tournament.[4] It was in this tournament that the Philippines played against another national side. They won 10–0[5] over a Macau squad, sanctioned by the Macau Ice Sports Federation.[6]

The Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL), a national ice hockey federation was then established in February 2015 to govern ice hockey in the Philippines[7] making efforts to organize a formal national team easier.[2]

2016: FIHL affiliation

The FIHL became an associate member of the IIHF on 20 May 2016[8][9] and by July 2016, the federation also became a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). The FIHL's membership with these two bodies made them eligible to send national teams including a men's national team to the official tournaments such as the IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship (formerly the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia) and the Southeast Asian Games.[2]

The Philippine national team participated once again at the HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament for the 2016 edition. They settled for first runner-up place after they lost 4–3 in overtime to Mitsubishi Corp. in the Gold Plate Division final. They also played against the national team of Oman in the tournament.[10]

Official FIHL tournament debut

The Philippine national team participated at the 2017 Asian Winter Games,[11] which was their first official tournament.[12] They participated in Division II of the tournament.[13] The team, captained by Swiss-Filipino, Steven Füglister,[14] underwent a seven-month training which started in July 2016 prior to the competition.[15]

The team lost 10–5 in their first official match against Kyrgyzstan.[16] Philippines secured their first official win as a FIHL member when they defeated Qatar with a score of 14–2[17] and was followed by an 8–3 triumph against Kuwait, who were competing as the Independent Olympic Athletes. The team finished third in their division following their 9–2 win over Macau in the play-off for third place.[16]

2017 Southeast Asian Games

Philippine national team players in blue posing as a team on an ice rink
The Philippines national team at the 2017 SEA Games.

The Philippines participated at an ice hockey tournament event of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.[18] To prepare for the tournament, they participated at the 2017 Philippine Ice Hockey Tournament which was held at the SM Megamall Skating Rink in Mandaluyong.[19] The national team finished third behind second placed New York-based Islanders Red and first placed Singaporean side Pandoo Nation.[20]

The Philippine national team mentored by Czech head coach Daniel Brodan[21] started their Southeast Asian Games campaign with a 12–0 victory over Indonesia.[22] This was followed by their game against Singapore which ended with a 7–2 triumph.[23]

This was then followed by their game against Malaysia which saw the ejection of the Philippine captain, Steven Füglister from the game in the first period. He was given a game misconduct penalty for hitting a Malaysian player in a head while pursuing the puck although the skipper said the infraction was an unintentional accident.[24] The match ended with a 7–7 tie after regulation time after an extra five-minute-period which led to a shootout. The Philippines outscored Malaysia to register a win.[23]

The Malaysian organizers decided to suspend Fuglister for the final match against Thailand. The Philippines appealed this decision but failed to overturn the suspension.[24] Despite playing sans their captain, the Philippines wrapped up their campaign, undefeated with a 5–4 win over Thailand and clinched the first ever ice hockey gold medal in the history of the regional tournament.[25]

2018 and 2019 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia

The Philippines hosted the Top Division of the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia from 3 to 8 April 2018, their first IIHF-sanctioned tournament, at the SM Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink in Pasay, Metro Manila.[26] The team was mentored by American head coach, Jonathan De Castro.[27] The national team settled for bronze after tying in points with champions Mongolia and runners-up Thailand. Goal differences of the three teams with matches against the two other teams, Kuwait and Singapore, disregarded was used as tiebreaker to determine the final standing.[28] The national team improved its best finish in the tournament in the following edition of the tournament in 2019 hosted in Malaysia. They lost to Mongolia in the final settling for second place.[29]

2019 Southeast Asian Games

The Philippines failed to defend their Southeast Asian Games title at home in the 2019 edition of the regional games settling for a bronze medal finish.

Kaspersky, an internet security firm, sponsored their participation in the regional games.[30]

IIHF World Championships

The Philippines' ice hockey governing body, the Federation of Ice Hockey League, from 2017, projects the national team's first participation in the IIHF World Championships within three to five years.[31] They have applied to participate in the inaugural Division IV of the World Championships for the 2020 edition.[29][32] However the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[33] The 2021 Division IV tournament would also get cancelled. The Philippines' debut in the World Championship would be further postponed, after it withdrew from the 2022 Division IV tournament citing inability to train due to closure of ice rinks in the past two years due to the pandemic.[34][35]

By August 2022, ice rinks have reopened[36] and in October 2022, Finnish instructor Juhani Ijäs has been appointed as head coach and program director of the Philippine national team.[37]

They would finally make their World Championship debut by taking part in the 2023 Division IV tournament in Mongolia. They swept all three games against Indonesia, the hosts, and Kuwait to earn a promotion to Division III.[38][39]

Tournament record

World Championships

Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
1930 through 2015Not an IIHF member
2016 through 2019did not enter
2020Kyrgyzstan BishkekCancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
(was to enter Division IV)
2021All lower division tournaments
cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[40]
(was to enter Division IV)
2022Withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic[41]
(was to enter Division IV)
2023Mongolia Ulaanbaatar52nd place
(1st in Division IV)		32100
2024to be determinedto be determined
(Division III)		00000
Total1/432100

Asian Winter Games

Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
1986 through 2011did not enter
2017Japan Sapporo13th place
(3rd in Division II)		43001
Total1/143001

Challenge Cup of Asia

Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
2008 through 2017did not participate
2018Philippines Pasay 3rd Place43001
2019Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 2nd Place54001
2020Singapore SingaporeCancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Total2/1297002

Southeast Asian Games

Year Host Result Pld W OTW OTL L
2017Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 1st place43100
2019Philippines Pasay 3rd Place64002
Total2/2107102

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 IIHF World Championship Division IV.[42]

Head coach: Finland Juhani Ijäs

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Club
2FLenard Rigel Lancero II1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)72 kg (159 lb)2 July 1995 (aged 27)Philippines Manila Hawks
3FKenwrick Sze1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)96 kg (212 lb)13 December 2004 (aged 18)Philippines Mustangs
7FCarl Montano1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)98 kg (216 lb)11 September 1983 (aged 39)Philippines Mustangs
8FCarlo Angelo Tigaronita1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)80 kg (180 lb)8 July 2002 (aged 20)Philippines Manila Hawks
11DJann So Tiong1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)89 kg (196 lb)1 February 2002 (aged 21)Philippines Mustangs
12DEinzenn Ham1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)90 kg (200 lb)16 December 2003 (aged 19)Philippines Mustangs
13FMikel Sean Miller1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)72 kg (159 lb)27 August 1988 (aged 34)Philippines Manila Hawks
14DCarlo Martin Tenedero1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)65 kg (143 lb)7 February 1985 (aged 38)Philippines Manila Hawks
16FPatrick Daniel Abis1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)66 kg (146 lb)28 September 2003 (aged 19)Philippines Manila Hawks
18FJan Aro Regencia1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)58 kg (128 lb)18 October 2000 (aged 22)Philippines Mustangs
20FJohn Glenn Lagleva1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)52 kg (115 lb)6 June 2004 (aged 18)Philippines Manila Hawks
22DDan Carlo Pastrana1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)56 kg (123 lb)9 May 2005 (aged 17)Philippines Manila Hawks
24DEishner Jigsmac Sibug1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)72 kg (159 lb)14 April 1999 (aged 23)Philippines Mustangs
25FSteven Füglister1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)90 kg (200 lb)25 January 1986 (aged 37)Philippines Manila Hawks
29GPaolo Spafford1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)78 kg (172 lb)10 June 1985 (aged 37)Philippines Manila Hawks
30GGianpietro Iseppi1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)90 kg (200 lb)24 April 1982 (aged 40)Philippines Manila Bearcats
31FMiguel Relampagos1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)75 kg (165 lb)1 August 1995 (aged 27)Philippines Manila Hawks
61FManvil Billones1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)75 kg (165 lb)1 November 1993 (aged 29)Philippines Manila Hawks
69DJulius Santiago1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)75 kg (165 lb)3 June 1996 (aged 26)Philippines Manila Hawks
97FJorell Crisostomo1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)63 kg (139 lb)25 April 2000 (aged 22)Philippines Manila Hawks

Coaching history

Year Coach GC W OTW OTL L Pts
2017 Czech Republic Daniel Brodan[21] 8 6 1 0 1 20
2018 United States Jonathan De Castro 5 4 0 0 1 12
2019 Czech Republic Daniel Brodan[43] 11 8 0 0 3 24
2022– Finland Juhani Ijäs 3 2 1 0 0 8

Fixtures and results

Against other national teams[44]
Opponent Date Score Scores by period Tournament Host venue
 Indonesia 23 March 2023 14–0 4–0, 6–0, 4–0 IIHF World Championship – Division IV Steppe Arena, Ulaanbaatar
 Mongolia 25 March 2023 7–6 3–0, 0–3, 3–3
OT: 1–0
 Kuwait 26 March 2023 14–0 1–0, 4–0, 9–0
  Win    Loss

All-time record against other national teams

Last match update: 26 March 2023[44]

Key
    Positive balance (more Wins)
    Neutral balance (Wins = Losses)
    Negative balance (more Losses)
Team GP W T L GF GA
 Indonesia3300341
 Kuwait3300353
 Kyrgyzstan1001510
 Macau1100100
 Malaysia44004713
 Mongolia43012321
 Oman110090
 Qatar2200284
 Singapore65014314
 Thailand31021021
Total28230524487

References

  1. ↑ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "A cooling trend". IIHF. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Japan Team Wins Hong Kong Hockey Tournament". Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "2014 HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament" (in English and Chinese). Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "2014 HKAHC Tour Schedule". Hong Kong Amateur Hockey Club. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "2014 HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament Teams" (in English and Chinese). Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Henson, Joaquin (25 October 2015). "Pinoys break ice in hockey". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Philippines". IIHF. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "IIHF grows in Asia". iihf.com. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "2016 HKAHC Tour Schedule". Hong Kong Amateur Club. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  11. ↑ "29 Filipino athletes to compete in 2017 Asian Winter Games". Manila Bulletin. Manila, Philippines. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Southeast Asian newcomers". IIHF. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  13. ↑ "PH hockey team off to Japan for Asian Winter Games". ABS-CBN News. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "Steven Füglister at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com.
  15. ↑ Gamboa, Ray Butch (25 February 2017). "Ice hockey for Pinoys – why not". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  16. 1 2 "PH Ice Hockey Team ranks 3rd in Asian Winter Games". Philippine News Agency. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  17. ↑ Ellis, Steven (23 February 2017). "Philippines Win First Official Game, Thailand in Good Standing". National Teams of Hockey. Eurohockey.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  18. ↑ "Exciting times for Asia". IIHF. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  19. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (16 June 2017). "PHIT tournament a big part of Philippine ice hockey team's buildup for SEA Games". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  20. ↑ "Quest:2017 Philippine Ice Hockey Tournament". Business & Leisure. Sunshine Television. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  21. 1 2 "Team Roster Philippines (PHI) – Ice Hockey Southeast Asian Games" (PDF). IIHF. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "SEA Games: PH ice hockey team shuts down Indonesia". ABS-CBN News. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  23. 1 2 Terrado, Reuben (24 August 2017). "Philippine ice hockey team moves past Malaysia and into gold medal match against Thais". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  24. 1 2 Valderrama, Aeron Paul (2 September 2017). "Tough ordeals make historic gold worth it for Ice Hockey Team". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  25. ↑ Songalia, Ryan (24 August 2017). "Philippines defeats Thailand to win first ever SEA Games ice hockey gold". Rappler. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  26. ↑ Manez, Mark (27 March 2018). "Philippines hosts 2018 IIHF Challenge Cup". Dugout Philippines. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  27. ↑ "IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia – Team Roster (PHI – Philippines)" (PDF). IIHF. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  28. ↑ Palmer, Dan (8 April 2018). "Mongolia win IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia on goal difference". Inside the Games. Dunsar Media Company Limited. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  29. 1 2 Valderama, Aeron Paul (9 March 2019). "Philippine Hockey Team goes one better with silver in Challenge Cup 2019". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  30. ↑ "PH ice hockey, tennis teams for 30th SEA Games get support from Kaspersky". Philippine Information Agency. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  31. ↑ "After SEA Games, Pinoy Mighty Ducks now eye World Championships". 31 August 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  32. ↑ "Philippine hockey jersey displayed in Toronto Hockey Hall of Fame". The Philippine Star. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  33. ↑ "IIHF cancels March tournaments". IIHF. 2 March 2020.
  34. ↑ Merk, Martin (13 December 2021). "Debut for Philippines postponed". IIHF. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  35. ↑ Mangubat, Lio (14 December 2021). "Unable to train for 18 months, PH withdraws from hockey world championships". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  36. ↑ "ICE to see you again at SM Skating". Manila Bulletin. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  37. ↑ Cua, Aric John Sy (6 October 2022). "Hockey Philippines hails new coach". The Manila Times. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  38. ↑ "Golden debut for the Philippines". IIHF. 27 March 2023.
  39. ↑ Fuertes, Rommel Jr (28 March 2023). "PH hockey team earns promotion after unbeaten campaign". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  40. ↑ "IIHF – IIHF Council announces more cancellations". IIHF. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  41. ↑ "Debut for Philippines postponed". IIHF. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  42. ↑ "Philippines". IIHF. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  43. ↑ "IIHF – Philippines (2019 Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia)" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  44. 1 2 "Philippines Men All Time Results" (PDF). National Teams of Ice Hockey. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
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