Having won it all in 2017, and following it up with a bronze medal at home in 2019, the Philippine Men’s Ice Hockey Team are raring to make a new statement.
There’s history involved, but the Philippine Men’s Ice Hockey Team is vying for the present — and the future — as they compete in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand beginning next week as the sport returns for the first time since 2019.
Previously winning it all in 2017, and winning bronze in the 2019 edition in Manila, the Philippine hockey players are now looking totally different.
Save for a couple of holdovers from those campaigns, they have seemingly begun a new era. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to get the same level of success as the teams and players before them, especially in the SEA Games.
One of the remaining players in the 2017 roster, Steven Füglister shared that because most of the team had yet to experience the same success he did, there’s a lot more motivation this time around.
“The 2017 [and] 2019 [campaigns], like the gold medal, they keep getting mentioned, but the reality is there's only four players from that team still playing right now. So it's a whole new team. It's a new identity,” Füglister told One Sports.
“We have a lot of young, hungry players who want to make a name for themselves. So with the guidance of some of the vets, of course, it's a good mix.”
Even as Ice Hockey took a break from the SEA Games, the national team has been quite busy in the past few years.
The men’s team had competed in Division III B of the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Mexico earlier this year where they were able to get some invaluable experience on the ice against more experienced and established teams.
Going into the SEA Games, Füglister knows that there will be challenges, especially with some naturalized players coming in for their other opponents, but at the end of the day, he’s confident in what the team can do.
“I enjoy playing with this team. Yes, I mean, of course, Thailand is going to be the, I would say the favorite for the tournament. Indonesia, yes, they have naturalized Russians.” he said.
“But at the end of the day, like we have to believe in our own team and believe in our own strength and in our system. And so at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who we play against. We just need to look out for ourselves.”
Always aiming high
Despite everything, there is tremendous ambition within the team — and it’s no different for Füglister’s teammate Aro Regencia.
Knowing what the team can do, he does believe that they have what it takes to go home with the gold medal again, especially after seeing the team take it all in previous editions. At the end of the day, they’ll just need to keep themselves zeroed in.
“We're always aiming for the gold, of course. Since we've done it before, I believe we can do it again.” said Regencia.
“But we just got to be humble and focus on one game at a time and trust in our system, trust with our teammates. And yeah, like support each other whenever we make mistakes and win the game shift by shift.” he added.
Apart from the men’s team, the women’s team will also be competing — a first for the SEA Games.
Hopes will be high as well for the women after they won the gold in the IIHF Women’s Asia Cup earlier this year.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.