The pandemic may have derailed their plans for three years but the Philippine Hockey League—aka Hockey Philippines—has finally proven they are ready for the world stage when it emerged victorious in the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division IV.
The event was held recently in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The team, which entered for the first time in the world tournament, took home the gold medal after beating Indonesia (14-0), host country Mongolia (7-6 in overtime), before finally crushing Kuwait (14-0) Sunday night. This feat, in effect, promoted the team to a higher division, which is Division III B.
Hockey Philippines co-captain Steven Füglister was still in high spirits when ANCX spoke to him Tuesday, the day after he arrived from Mongolia. The team certainly worked hard to achieve this recent triumph, said the Swiss-Filipino athlete. “There's no way to go but up from there.”
The win is clearly an important victory for the team. Moving to Division III B will give the members more exposure and challenges as they will be competing against European and Middle Eastern countries in the next tournament.
The athletes’ preparation did serve them well under the guardianship of their Finnish coach Juhani Ijäs, who took the reins of the team beginning last year. Füglister said Ijäs is very experienced in Southeast Asia after having worked with the Thailand team for five years.
The Philippine players—a mix of students, professionals and business owners—dedicated their time and energy to training three to four times a week at their home rink in Mall of Asia. “Everyone was just so dialed in,” observed the 37-year-old co-captain. “The boys made quite an effort to go to all the practices after work or school, driving through Manila traffic to practice for two hours. I really salute them.”
Füglister said what made the Philippine team emerge triumphant is its strong leadership and the fact that they have a mix of veteran and young players. “We have older players who have been through tournaments and are able to guide the young ones. And then the young ones obviously bring a lot of energy to the team. Everything just gelled together. I think that gave us the edge,” he said.
Füglister was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, which is a hockey hotbed. This is why he started in the sport pretty early, at age six, and kept at it until adulthood. His mother hails from Negros Occidental and his father is from Switzerland, which also makes Steven a Negrense.
A graduate of the Zurich Business School, Füglister is a former banker. He also used to play semi-pro in Switzerland. It was in 2012 when he met the fashion designer Vania Romoff while visiting Manila.
He retired from the sport in 2013 and decided to move to the Philippines to be with Romoff the following year. The pair got married twice in 2017, first in Switzerland and then in Boracay.
As for him getting involved in ice hockey again, his wife actually played a role in it. “When I moved here, I didn’t know there was hockey here. It was Vania who Googled it and that’s was how I found out about it,” said Füglister. Vania then encouraged her then-fiancé to reach out to the group so he could make new friends being new in the city.
From playing for recreation, the group eventually turned pro, got officially recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and became a member in 2016 of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the world governing body of ice hockey. “I don't know if you want to call it destiny, but everything I did so far in my life led me right to where I am right now. It's like everything fell into place,” said the Swiss-Pinoy, obviously happy with his current stature in life.
As co-captain of the team since 2017, Füglister has been able to share with Filipino players what he learned during his training in Switzerland. “I certainly try to raise the standard of how we do things here,” he offered. The same year, the team clinched its first ever Southeast Asian Games gold medal in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Being part of the team also inspired him and reignited his love for the game. “In Switzerland, as a player, I took so many things for granted—like having an equipment manager taking care of our stuff, or Gatorade bottles always in the locker room, or just equipment always provided,” Füglister said. “Then you come here and you see all these kids doing so much on their own. That's what motivated me also to stick with this program.”
Vania’s support has also been very encouraging especially during trainings. “In the evening, she puts the kids to bed when I'm not here, and I appreciate that so much. I know that she 100 percent got my back and it makes things just so much easier,” said the father of three, who also runs the business part of Romoff’s fashion house.
Romoff wasn’t able to fly to Mongolia to watch the game with their eldest child, seven-year-old Emilia, but she sent him videos of the kids cheering at home. Said Füglister: “Obviously [my two-year-old] boys had no idea what was going on but when they saw me on the TV, they screamed ‘Daddy!’ and that was so cute.” Unlike the boys, Emilia has watched Hockey Philippines play in Manila. “Emilia was there for all the games wearing my jersey and as a father that's just such a proud moment that your child is cheering for you.”
At the moment, the team is taking a much-needed break. But they would be busy again soon as there are tournaments planned around Asia. Later in the year, they will start preparing for the world championship in 2024, and Füglister is already looking forward to it. “Certainly,” he said, “that’s our next big goal.”