MATAPOOS makamit ang silver medal sa 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Challenge Cup of Asia sa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, nakatuon ang pansin ng Philippine Hockey team  s apaghahanda sa SEA Games sa Nobyembre sa Manila.

Ayon kay team captain at tournament Most Valuable Player Steven Fuglister, nakatakda sumabak ang koponan sa ilang serye ng torneo sa baroad bago ang biennila meet.

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"We will play in two amateur tournaments as preparation for the 2019 SEA Games. One will be in June here in Manila, the Philippine Ice Hockey Tournament and in October we will go to Bangkok to compete in the Land of Smiles Tournament," pahayag ni Fuglister sa panayam ng Manila Bulletin Sports.

"Those will be our two major preparation events that we have for the SEA Games in November besides our regular team practices," aniya.

Iginiit ni Fuglister na determinado ang koponan na pataasin pa ang level ng pagiging kompetitibo bago ang SEA Games.

"After the game, I think everyone was devastated in the locker room. We certainly aspired for more but I told the team that we should write this off as a learning experience, especially that we brought in a lot of players for the first time. I am confident that our players will learn from this game and come out stronger moving forward," aniya.

"We went undefeated during the preliminary round and went into the gold medal match confident and with a positive feeling especially after beating Mongolia in our first matchup (We also beat them in the 2018 CCOA in Manila). Our game plan was to score first and control the game from there on out,” aniya.

"Those plans got thrown out as Mongolia went ahead 3:0 in the first period. That might have thrown us off a bit but we believed in our strength, regrouped and came back to tie the game 3:3 later in the game. Then some individual mistakes happened and the experienced players from Mongolia took advantage of that."

Ikinaluigod din niya ang pagkakapili sa kanya bilang tournament MVP.

"Personal awards, in general, are a nice recognition for all the work put in as an individual. But there’s a reason why I play a team sport. I want to succeed with my team and I would have traded the MVP Award any time of the day for the gold medal. Since the MVP gets chosen by representatives of the other teams, of course, it's an honor being recognized for your efforts," aniya.