The Philippines men's national lacrosse team is the national team which represents the Philippines in international lacrosse competitions. It is organized by the Philippines Lacrosse Association, which is a full member of World Lacrosse and an associate member of the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union.
History
The Philippines playing against the Czech Republic at the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship
The Philippine national team played their first ever lacrosse game against Costa Rica at the Estadio Municipal El Labrador in Vázquez de Coronado in December 2012. The Philippines won that game with Ron Garcia being the first to score an international goal for the Philippines[1][2]
Lacrosse was officially introduced in the Philippines in September 2013, when the Philippines Lacrosse Association (PLA) outreach director Justin Manjares and President Ron Garcia met with Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSA) regarding the lacrosse body's agenda and talked about promoting the sport with the guidance of the POC and PSC.[3]
The Philippines made their debut at the World Lacrosse Championship in the 2014 edition, though they only participated as a festival squad and did not feature in the main competition.[5] In the World Lacrosse Festivals, the national team played in the Elite Division against teams from Ireland, Japan, Thailand, and the United States. They finished seventh out of 16 teams with two wins and two losses.[6] The Philippines participated in other international invitational tournaments such as the 2014 International Lacrosse Festival of the Israel Lacrosse Association,[7] the 2016 Philadelphia International Showdown,[8] and the 2017 Memorial Day Weekend International Lacrosse Festival.[9]
The Philippines has yet to be admitted as a member of the Asia-Pacific Lacrosse Union as of 2018, meaning they were unable to participate in the 2015 and 2017 ASPAC games.[10] In mid-July 2017, The Philippine national team appointed Carthage Senior High School coach Kirk Ventiquattro as their head coach for the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship.[11] The American coach accepted the post agreeing with the national team management that the position would not affect his other duty as Carthage's varsity lacrosse coach.[12] They made their official debut in the 2018 edition of the World Lacrosse Championship and played in the main tournament.[9] They were made part of the Grey Division along with the Czech Republic and Belgium.[10]They finished the top of their division. Overall they finished 10th losing only to host Israel and Germany in the later stages.[13]
The Philippines qualified for the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship.[14][15][16] Ventiquattro once again led the team.[17] After the tournament, the Philippines' standing was demoted to 30th (last place) due to the team's failure to comply with eligibility requirements, the team initially finished in 15th place.[18]
^The Philippines did not participate in the main tournament. However they did participate in 2014 World Lacrosse Festivals.
References
^"Philippines Lacrosse In Costa Rica: Pura Vida!". Lacrosse All Stars. December 9, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
^Stevens, Dan (November 26, 2012). "Costa Rica vs Philippines Lacrosse Game, December 9th". Costa Rican Times. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
^"Justin Manjares: Selling lacrosse to basketball-crazy Filipinos". The FilAm. June 10, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
^"Philippines Becomes FIL's 50th Member". Federation of International Lacrosse. February 27, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
^Cochrane, Ryder (July 11, 2018). "Long Time Coming, Philippines All Set for World Championship Debut". Lacrosse All Stars. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^Ciocon, Noel (August 31, 2014). "A new sport sweeps Lacrosse the country". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^"Israel, Philippines, Greek national teams to play in South Jersey in conjunction with JCC Maccabi Games". Philly Lacrose.com. August 1, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^"Israel shocks Philippines in OT thriller, 7-6". Israel Lacrosse. May 30, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^ abDonahue, Mark (February 22, 2017). "Philippines Lacrosse Roster – 2018 FIL Championships". Lacrosse All Stars. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^ abWitmer, Brian (June 27, 2018). "GREY – 2018 World Championships Pool Preview #11". Lacrosse All Stars. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^"Ventiquattro To Coach Philippines In 2018 Championships". 7 News WWNY. Frankly Media, WWNY. August 9, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^"Men's lacrosse: Carthage's Ventiquattro to coach Philippines team in 2018". Watertown Daily Times. August 7, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^Wilson, Connor (July 20, 2018). "2018 FIL WLC Best New Teams". Lacrosse All Stars. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
^"2022 Asia-Pacific Men's Lacrosse World Cup Qualification". 31 January 2020. Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
^ ab"Manjares-Coached Philippines Qualifies For World Championship". Maritime College Athletics. October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
^Lacrosse players honor Filipino roots in quest for gold (Television production). San Diego: TFC News California / ABS-CBN News. June 23, 2023. Archived from the original on June 24, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023 – via YouTube.