BUILDING bridges for Filipino talents across borders — that has always been Fil-Am Nation Select’s principle.
And now, they’re adding ice hockey to their program, alongside popular Filipino sports like basketball, volleyball, and football.
To kickstart the scouting program, the organization tapped former Philippine national team hockey coach Jonathan de Castro to be its program director for the winter sport.
De Castro will work with the founders of the group, composed of former San Miguel star Alex Cabagnot as well as US-based coach Cris Gopez, who is Cabagnot’s cousin.
De Castro will be tasked to oversee scouting and drum up showcase events to promote Filipino talents in the States.
The hockey mentor was the head tactitian for the national team for ice hockey in 2018 where they finished bronze in the Challenge Cup of Asia.
He also handles his own training academy for goalies, the De Castro Goaltending Academy, in New York.
While snow is not endemic to our tropical country, the sport continues to grow after the Philippines joined the International Ice Hockey Federation in 2016.
In the past two Southeast Asian Games, the Ice Hockey national team bagged gold and bronze finishes in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
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