Philippines wins first ever SEA Games ice hockey gold

The Philippines ice hockey team celebrates a goal during their Ice Hockey round robin game against Malaysia during the 29th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Kuala Lumpur on August 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY

The Philippines swept its way to the Southeast Asian Games’ inaugural ice hockey gold medal Thursday night.

READ: Filipinos break ice with 12-0 thumping of Indonesia

The PH ice hockey team nipped Thailand, 5-4, in a tense final to seal the country’s 15th gold medal in a historic undefeated run.

READ: SEA Games: PH stays unscathed at 2-0 in ice hockey 

The Filipinos beat Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia before frustrating the Thais, who managed to close in at the end of the second period despite an early deficit, in the last match.

READ: SEA Games: PH beats Malaysia on penalties, takes shot at ice hockey

The Philippines got an early 4-1 lead but Thailand refused to go away and cut it down to one in the second.

After a scoreless third period, Niko Cadiz struck goal no. 5 with eight minutes left to play as the Filipinos held on to the win.

Ice hockey was played for the first time in the regional sporting meet.

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It was quiet a debut for the nation’s hockey team, which was only assembled a few years ago.

Majority of the team are homegrown talents who learned to skate at SM mall rinks, which has existed in the Philippines for two decades

That worked to the Filipinos’ advantage in the SEA Games ice hockey tournament, which was also played inside a mall in construction in Kuala Lumpur.

Members of the team are Benjamin Jorge
 Imperial, Carl Michael Montano, Daniel 
Pastrana, Francois Emmanuel Gautier, Javier Alfonso 
Cadiz, Gianpietro
 
Iseppi, Jan Aro
 Regencia, John Steven
 Fuglister, Georgino
 Orda, Jorell Crisostomo, Jose Inigo Anton 
Cadiz, Joshua 
Carino, 
Julius Frederick Santiago, Lenard Rigel II

Lancero, Miguel Alfonso Relampagos, 
Miguel Serrano, Paolo
 
Spafford, Patrick Russell
 Syquiatco, Paul Gabriel Sanchez and Carlo Martin Sison 
Tenedoro. Head coach is Daniel Brodan.

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