MANILA – Filipino-American Nikko Remigio and Kansas City Chiefs repeated as Super Bowl champions after a 25-22 overtime beating of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday (Monday in the Philippines) at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Remigio, whose father Mark traced his roots to Iloilo and Muntinlupa City, was not rostered for the championship game as he is still recovering from a shoulder injury.
The 24-year-old Remigio landed a contract with the Chiefs after receiving a training camp invite after not being selected during the 2023 National Football League rookie draft.
It was Patrick Mahomes and Mecole Hardman who anchored the come-from-behind triumph against the Chiefs, making them the first back-to-back Super Bowl champion in 19 years.
The Chiefs trailed 22-19 after 49ers’ Jake Moody kicked a 27-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime, but Mahomes ran 8 yards on fourth-and-1 to tie the score at 22-all.
Mahomes then completed another impressive fight back for the Chiefs as he scrambled 19 yards to set up the winning score to a wide-open Hardman late in the extension.
“This Super Bowl means a ton,” Mahomes said in a post-game interview. “With the adversity we dealt with this year, and to come through, the guys never faltered.”
A field goal by Harrison Butker allowed Kansas City to cut the deficit 3-10 at the half before tying the score at 16-all courtesy of field goals from Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Butker in the second half.
Moody kicked a 40-yard field goal to restore San Francisco’s lead at 19-16, but Mahomes forced an extra time as he set up Butker for a field goal with three seconds left in the regulation.
“Just the whole game was our whole entire season, the defense just keeping us in there and then the offense making plays when it counted,” Mahomes said.
“I’m just proud of the guys. They kept believing. And I’m proud of the coaches for calling up those plays that got us some touchdowns there at the end,” he added./PN
