PH assured of first Asian Winter Games medal as men's curling team faces South Korea for gold

The Philippines is already assured of its first Asian Winter Games medal as Curling Pilipinas advances to the gold medal match of the men's curling event against South Korea.

Curling Pilipinas, composed of Marc and Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, Alan Frei, and Benjo Delarmente, eked out a 7-6 win against China in the semifinals on Thursday night.

The Philippines went scoreless in the first two ends as China had an early 2-0 lead. The Philippines broke through in the third end. By the fourth end, China already had a 4-1 lead, but a strong fifth end for the Philippines where it scored four points tied the match.

Curling Pilipinas continued to held on the lead by the sixth end after scoring one more, but China managed to reclaim the lead by scoring two in the seventh end. In the eighth end, the Philippines scored one point, enough to assure the country of at least a silver medal in the said event.

Prior to the semifinals, Curling Pilipinas drubbed Japan, 10-4, in the semis qualifier.

The Philippines finished second in Group A of the round robin with a 3-1 win-loss card. It opened its campaign with a loss against South Korea, 6-1, before winning three straight against Kazakhstan (4-1), Kyrgyzstan (12-2), and Chinese Taipei (11-3). 

The Philippines will face South Korea for the gold on Friday morning, while China and Hong Kong will battle for the bronze.

READ MORE | Curling Pilipinas eyes to make it to the Winter Olympics, one step at a time

The women's team, meanwhile, failed to advance to the semifinals after finishing fourth with a 4-4 record in the round robin. South Korea, China, Japan, and Kazakhstan notched the top four spots to advance to the semis, with South Korea and China battling for gold on Friday.

Previously, the Philippines finished fourth in the mixed doubles event.

According to World Curling's website, "Curling is a team sport, played on ice, where two teams take it in turns to slide stones made of granite towards a target."

—JKC, GMA Integrated News