Melvin Alm Mendoza was looking forward to Tuesday, when he would finally make his first-ever appearance on home soil for the national men’s floorball team.
The 21-year-old, born and raised in Uppsala, Sweden, had been a powerhouse on offense for the Philippines since the 2020 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, making him the all-time best scorer with 41 goals before this game.
On his much-awaited day, he scored on a penalty shot to put the Nationals up 2-0 by the end of the second period. Mendoza then added another goal from an offensive set, securing the game against New Zealand.
“This is my fifth tournament, but it is my first here in the Philippines. It was an amazing feeling, scoring here in front of the home crowd. So, yeah, very good feeling,” the Hagunda IF forward shared.
Now that the jitters are out, Mendoza hopes the squad continues this good showing to make the country proud.
“It’s good to play here at home; we get a lot of energy from our fans. It helped us a lot when we were playing here. And I hope they can help us in this tournament,” he concluded.
