PHL grabs first-ever win vs Singapore in World Floorball Championships

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Philippine men’s floorball team made history after clinching their first-ever win against Southeast Asian rival Singapore, 9-4, in the 2021 Men’s World Floorball Championships held at the Helsinki Ice Hall in Finland.

Aside from the sweet payback team PH had against Singapore after years of failing, the win also served as their first in the ongoing tournament.

Team PH played with a sense of urgency as if they had their backs against the wall and just steamrolled the Asian powerhouse Singapore who dealt them numerous heartbreaks in the prestigious tournament.

Debuting national team member Kim Varga proved to be the spark for team PH after scoring five of their nine points and single-handedly outscored the whole Singaporean team.

Along with teammate Melvin Alm, the power duo quickly put PH ahead after putting up points early for a 2-0 lead.

National team veterans Ryan Hallden and captain Lucas Oijvall then joined the party and contributed to the scoring department.

However, Singapore attempted a comeback in the second half and cut the PH lead to just 3, 4-7, off spectacular plays from star R Suria.

The Philippines then played out the clock with the lead on their side to end the highly-anticipated match with a 9-4 score.