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Philippines men's national ice hockey team
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The Philippines national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Philippines. It is governed by the Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL), which has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since May 20, 2016. Prior to that, a national team competed in regional tournaments in Hong Kong starting in the 2000s.
The Philippines is currently ranked 52nd in the IIHF World Ranking and 18th in the specialized ranking of Asian teams.[2] The team has participated in the World Championship since 2023. The team has also competed in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia.
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History
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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.[3] One such unofficial national team, "Manila Pilipinas," competed in the HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament in 2005. They finished as second runners-up in the Bauhinia Division, the lowest of the three divisions in the invitational tournament.[4]
Starting in 2008, ice hockey in the Philippines began to gain traction.[3] The Philippine national team returned to the HKAHC invitational tournament in 2014, where they won the Silver Plate Division, the second highest division of the event.[5] During the same tournament, the Philippines played against another national side and won 10–0[6] against a Macau squad, sanctioned by the Macau Ice Sports Federation.[7]
The Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL), a national governing body for ice hockey in the Philippines, was established in February 2015.[8] Its formation made efforts to organize a formal national team more structured.[3]
2016: FIHL affiliation
The FIHL became an associate member of the IIHF on 20 May 2016,[9][10] and by July 2016, the federation also became a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). FIHL’s membership in these organizations allowed it to send national teams, including the men's national team, to official tournaments such as the IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship (formerly the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia) and the Southeast Asian Games.[3]
The Philippine national team returned to the HKAHC Invitational Amateur Ice Hockey Tournament in 2016. They finished as first runner-up after losing 4–3 in overtime to Mitsubishi Corp. in the Gold Plate Division final. The team also faced the Oman national team during the tournament.[11]
Official FIHL tournament debut
The Philippine national team participated in the 2017 Asian Winter Games,[12] which marked their first official tournament.[13] They competed in Division II of the tournament.[14] The team, captained by Swiss-Filipino Steven Füglister,[15] underwent seven months of training, beginning in July 2016, in preparation for the competition.[16]
The team lost 10–5 in their first official match against Kyrgyzstan.[17] The Philippines secured their first official win as a FIHL member by defeating Qatar with a score of 14–2,[18] followed by an 8–3 triumph over Kuwait, which competed as the Independent Olympic Athletes. The team placed third in their division after a 9–2 win over Macau in the play-off for third place.[17]
2017 Southeast Asian Games
The Philippines participated at an ice hockey tournament event of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.[19] 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.[20] The national team finished third behind second placed New York-based Islanders Red and first placed Singaporean side Pandoo Nation.[21]
The Philippine national team mentored by Czech head coach Daniel Brodan[22] started their Southeast Asian Games campaign with a 12–0 victory over Indonesia.[23] This was followed by their game against Singapore which ended with a 7–2 triumph.[24]
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.[25] 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.[24]
The Malaysian organizers decided to suspend Fuglister for the final match against Thailand. The Philippines appealed this decision but failed to overturn the suspension.[25] 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.[26]
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.[27] The team was mentored by American head coach, Jonathan De Castro.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30]
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.[31]
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.[32] They have applied to participate in the inaugural Division IV of the World Championships for the 2020 edition.[30][33] However the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[34] 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.[35][36]
By August 2022, ice rinks have reopened[37] and in October 2022, Finnish instructor Juhani Ijäs has been appointed as head coach and program director of the Philippine national team.[38]
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.[39][40]
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Tournament record
World Championships
Asian Winter Games
Challenge Cup of Asia
SEA Games
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Team
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Current roster
Roster for the 2025 IIHF World Championship Division III B.[43]
Head coach: 
Juhani Ijäs
Coaching history
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Fixtures and results
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All-time record against other national teams
Last match update: 3 May 2025[45]
| Positive balance (more Wins) | |
| Neutral balance (Wins = Losses) | |
| Negative balance (more Losses) |
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References
External links
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