Miracle on ice

“Filipino athletes are now treated like war heroes who are competing with the entire nation, including deep-pocketed sponsors, behind them.

On Valentine’s Day, five Fil-foreign athletes gave the country a gift it will never forget.

Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, Alan Frei and alternate Benjo Delarmente made history when they won the country’s first-ever gold medal in the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China.

For a tropical country like the Philippines, winning a medal in a winter sport is truly special. For one thing, other Southeast Asian countries in this prestigious 32-nation tournament had greatly struggled with only Thailand barging into the overall rankings with a solitary medal — a bronze — courtesy of Thai-Frenchman Paul Vieuxtemps in the men’s slopestyle of freestyle skiing.

Overall, the Philippines finished fifth in the 9th edition of the games behind winter countries like China, South Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan.

Marc, the skipper of the Philippine Curling Team, was the standout.

Before switching federations last year, Marc represented Switzerland in three editions of the World Championship. His brother, Enrico, also made an impact after the Fil-Swiss athletes were allowed to play for the Philippines through their Filipina mother.

In the Asian Winter Games, the Philippines wrapped up the curling preliminaries with a 4-1 win-loss record to arrange a semifinal duel with powerhouse China.

With the entire nation rallying behind them, the world No. 17 Chinese marched to battle brimming with confidence, knowing that they had enough firepower and experience to advance to the final round at home.

But the Filipinos proved them wrong. The Pfister brothers refused to be intimidated as they powered the Philippines to a come-from-behind 7-6 victory that sent them to the gold medal match against another winter country, South Korea.

The Filipinos seemed unstoppable in the final as they displayed nerves of steel in the seventh and eighth ends to outduel erstwhile unbeaten South Korea and complete a 5-3 conquest that reverberated all around the world.

The triumph was wildly celebrated that even foreign news services like Agence France-Presse and Associated Press found it newsworthy, treating it as a miraculous win that drew a striking similarity to the qualification of the world’s youngest country — South Sudan — to the Paris Olympics following an emphatic win in the FIBA Basketball World Cup that the Philippines hosted in 2023.

The “Miracle on ice” is an off-shoot of the string of victories the country has enjoyed the past couple of years.

It all started when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the country’s first ever gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, followed by the historic win of the national women’s football squad in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 — the same year Gilas Plipinas won a gold medal in the 19th Asian Games for the first time in more than six decades.

But the biggest win was when gymnast Carlos Yulo clinched two gold medals in the Paris Olympics — a victory that elevated the country to superpower status in Southeast Asia.

The momentum that was created by this string of successes shouldn’t stop with the “Miracle on ice.”

Instead, it should serve as an inspiration for the Philippine Olympic Committee to continue sending quality talents to major international competitions similar to what it did when it threw its full support behind the newly assembled Pilipinas Curling team that produced the historic gold in the Asian Winter Games.

On the same note, the historic triumph should further motivate the Philippine Sports Commission to comb not just the country — but the entire world — for young Filipino athletes who have what it takes to emerge victorious in elite tournaments.

A victory like the “Miracle on ice” brings pride and glory to the country. It fans the sense of pride and nationalism of countless Filipinos who are looking for something to celebrate what with the non-stop bickering and mudslinging among political leaders and the rising cost of basic commodities.

There is no doubt the golden age of Philippine sports has arrived.

Before, Filipino athletes competed in borrowed uniforms and worn-out sneakers on the world stage. But today, it’s completely different. Filipino athletes are now treated like war heroes who are competing with the entire nation, including deep-pocketed sponsors, behind them.

Hopefully, local sports leaders will realize the value of this latest success. Instead of squabbling and backstabbing, they should work hand in hand to sustain the momentum started by Filipino athletes.

The “Miracle on ice” should not be the end. Rather, it should be the start of something good, something remarkable for Philippine sports.

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