Ice Sports in the Philippines is starting to gain popularity as the Philippine hockey team is making strides in preparation for the Southeast Asian Games in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The SM Group is solidly behind the preparation for the biennial meet which marks the debut of ice hockey as a distinct sports discipline in the Southeast Asian Games.
A string of successful stints in previous international competition paved the way for the SM Group to throw their all-out support to the team and to send them to Malaysia.
Both the youth team and adult squad have a proven track record in the past that will play a vital role that can be leveraged to be at par with other Asian countries.
The Philippine under-13 team recently captured the Gold Cup at the Malaysia Invitational. Despite losing their preliminary games against Indonesia, Singapore and host Malaysia. The pewee team showed resiliency by knocking out the top seed Indonesia to the tune of 3-0 upset win in the semifinals.
In the finals, the Filipino kids forced overtime and beat Singapore in the extra frame, 3-2.
In the open category, the Philippine men’s team made their mark after emerging victorious at the 13th annual BOCI-Prudential Asset Management Ice Hockey Championships in Hong Kong last September.
The average age of the Philippine squad was in the range of 30 to 35 with Jorell Crisostomo the youngest at 15 and Scott Young the oldest at 46. The Philippines crushed Mongolia, 6-1, Hong Kong, 7-0 and the United Arab Emirates, 4-1, then lost to Mitsubishi of Japan, 6-4. In the final, the Philippines and Mitsubishi battled for the crown with the Filipinos gaining sweet revenge, 3-1.
“Realizing the capability of the Filipino to excel in unconventional sports like ice hockey, SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. (SMLEI) brings focus to programs that will enrich the varied and exceptional sports of the Philippines,” said SMLEI president Ed Tejerero.
Not only in ice hockey, The SM group is also contemplating to push figure skating to the next level after the dazzling performance of Michael Martinez in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
SMLEI has supported the growth of athletes on ice through skating programs such as the recent Summer Skate, a developmental platform for beginning figure skaters at the SM rinks in the Mall of Asia, Southmall and Megamall. The rinks at the Mall of Asia and Southmall were used to hone the skills of talented hockey players.
Martinez is backed up by an annual budget of P9 Million from SMLEI to travel the globe in bringing honor to the country as a figure skater. He’s currently ranked in the world’s top 30 and his goal is to finish in the top 10 at the World Championships in Boston on March 28-April 3 next year. Martinez is now in Beijing to participate at the Audi Cup of China. Incidentally, he turned 19 years old this month.
