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SEA Games: Pinoy underwater hockey team holding its breath for gold

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Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/sports/10/03/20191002-underwater-hockey.jpg"/><figcaption>Winning SEA Games gold has a two-prong benefit for the men&#x27;s and women&#x27;s national underwater-hockey teams: it improves their reputation and in turn the sport&#x27;s budding local profile. Screengrab</figcaption></figure></div>He&#x27;s rarely seen on land. For Christopher &quot;Topz&quot; Policarpo, home is underwater.On most days, you&#x27;ll find him training for a sport that not a lot of people are familiar with: underwater hockey. And yes, it&#x27;s exactly what you think.“Para din siyang ice hockey pero ang laro nasa ilalim ng tubig . . . Wala kang ibang apparatus na ginagamit kundi ang pagpigil ng paghinga sa ilalim ng tubig,” said Policarpio.Said Dennis Valdes, president of the Philippine Underwater Hockey Federation, the sports national governing body: “Siguro parang basketball din. Pag naka-goal ka, 1 point sa&#x27;yo &#x27;yun. &#x27;Pag naka-goal &#x27;yung kalaban, 1 point against you. Paramihan ng goal . . . Tapos sa basketball lima lang naglalaro, ito 6 ang naglalaro sa tubig.” The sport has been around since the 1950s but has only gained ground in the country in recent years.The training&#x27;s tough as most of the Philippine players have their own, separate day jobs.For Policarpio when he&#x27;s not underwater, he&#x27;s up in the air thousands of feet above working as a flight attendant. He is used to wearing the country&#x27;s flag for his work but he&#x27;s also represented the colors in various meets around the world.“Australia is the best underwater hockey country in the world . . . Ang ginagawa ng Australia, selected good players from around the world are invited to join. It&#x27;s an honor to be invited. Mabibilang mo sa isang kamay ang mga Pinoy na nakakapasok dyan, si Topz isa na doon. And the first year he joined, nanalo sila ng gold medal tsaka MVP pa siya,” Valdes said.The Philippine underwater hockey team may not have gills but it certainly has the skills. And the players are diving into their biggest challenge yet: the 2019 Southeast Asian Games where the sport will be played for the first time.Four golds are up for grabs.The men&#x27;s team is considered a contender while the women&#x27;s team is seen as the team to beat considering it has won twice in the Asian Championships.“Hindi ko naman maalis na kabahan, di ba? Kasi syempre may pressure sa&#x27;min na mag-perform very well and makakuha ng gold . . . As long as lahat naman kami isang goal lang din ang ina-achieve is to win gold, so &#x27;yun lang. Trust your teammates, trust your training,” said Chari Ongyanco, captain of the women’s team.The pressure is intense but the training is even moreso. While it&#x27;s a no-contact sport, players are used to getting bruised up and roughed up trying to get the puck into the goal.Policarpio himself ended up in the emergency room in 2018 after getting hit and rupturing his left ear. But the team hopes that the sacrifice will yield a victory not just for the country, but for the entire sport.“Gusto rin namin makapag-take ng opportunity na makapag-recruit ng mas maraming tao, mas maraming bata. Masayang masaya kasi binubuksan niya &#x27;yung pinto di lang para sa mga players na naglalaro ngayon kundi para sa mga players na parating pa,” said national-team member Nadj Buenafe.Policarpio said: “As long as I’m able, as long as there&#x27;s underwater hockey, I will continue to play.”The challenge in the sport is to hold one&#x27;s breath for as long as one can. But the Philippines&#x27; underwater hockey team&#x27;s campaign to capture the gold? Just as breathtaking.<div>(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.)</div>

Winning SEA Games gold has a two-prong benefit for the men's and women's national underwater-hockey teams: it improves their reputation and in turn the sport's budding local profile.

Winning SEA Games gold has a two-prong benefit for the men's and women's national underwater-hockey teams: it improves their reputation and in turn the sport's budding local profile.

SEA Games: Pinoy underwater hockey team holding its breath for gold

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SEA Games: Pinoy underwater hockey team holding its breath for gold

Jeff Canoy,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 03, 2019 02:06 PM PHT

Read More:

Underwater Hockey

2019 SEA Games

Christopher 'Topz' Policarpo

Dennis Valdes

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