It’s a sports still unfamiliar to Filipinos but one which vows to deliver for the country in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Floorball returns in the SEA Games calendar of events when the Philippines hosts the biennial meet on Nov. 3 to Dec. 11 and where the sport hopes to complete a sweep of the gold in both the men and women’s divisions.
“I think we can win both golds in the SEA Games,” said team manager Peter Eriksson in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel-Manila last Tuesday.
Philippine Floorball Association President Ralph Ramos described the sport as basically ‘hockey minus the skates.’
“And you don’t play on ice. You just need a stick, a ball, rubber shoes and you’re ready to go,” said the floorball official, who was also at the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) along with coach Noel Alm Johansson and player Ryan Hallden.
The game is played with the object of shooting the ball in the goal with the use of a stick. It is played 5-on-5 plus a goal keeper each, with each team maximizing all 20 players in their roster.
