By: Aishah Jimenez
Team Philippines celebrates their historic gold medal during the awarding ceremony of the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China. Photo courtesy of Jade Gao/AFP.
The Philippines men’s curling team captures the nation’s first-ever gold medal at the 2025 Asian Winter Games after defeating South Korea in the finals match, 5-3 on February 14 at Harbin, China.
Curling Pilipinas, composed of Marc Angelo Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Patrick Haller, Enrico Gabriel Pfister, and Benjo Delarmente, performed overwhelmingly to make history for the tropics.
Despite having no winter season, the team matched pace against the experienced South Korean group and held a sufficient 3-1 lead at the fourth end before the latter drew two in two ends, thereby tying the game, 3-3.
Skip Pfister had a chance to score two with the hammer when sitting one in the seventh, but his draw was unsuccessful.
Instead of grieving for the errors, the determination he had for himself was overpowering, stealing another from the eighth end after South Korea failed a bold promotion take-out effort to force an extra end. Hence, the victory.
The Philippines' 3-1 win-loss record placed them second in Group A of the round robin. They had to deal with a loss to South Korea, 6-1, in their opening bout before securing three straight victories against Kazakhstan (4-1), Kyrgyzstan (12-2), and Chinese Taipei (11-3).
The Philippine team then topped Japan, 10-4, in the semi-finals qualifier. They upset China, 7-6 in the semis before exacting revenge vs. South Korea, but this time for a gold medal.
With this feat, Curling Pilipinas is now seeking to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by Italy. Yet, their qualification may only be viable if they are in the top three in the pre-Olympic and top two in the Olympic qualification.
Curling Winter Sports Association of the Philippines Secretary General Jarryd Bello shared that winning over China and South Korea may give them a chance to top the two qualifier events. However, if the eligibility is based on points allocation, the nation will not be able to push through as it stands at 51st with 1.318 points, far behind the world’s No. 1, Sweden, with 84.085 points.
The country’s figure skating campaign, on the other hand, has concluded, reaching as far as fourth place.
Behind the highest achievement was the pair of Isabella Gamez and Aleksandr Korovin who tallied 155.62 points following their remarkable pieces but it was Uzbekistan, North Korea, and Japan who stood on the podium.
Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev of Uzbekistan took home gold with 176.43 accumulated points, whereas North Korea's Ryom Tae Ok and Han Kum Chol earned silver with 168.88 points. Japan’s duo Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi, meanwhile clinched bronze after earning 168.35 points.
In an interview, Gamez expressed that for them to successfully raise the Philippine flag, they need to be mentally conscious.
“For us, it’s not what we need to do physically, but it’s what we need to do more mentally. We need to make a quick change mentally. You know, I really let myself out. Aleksandr did good, he did his job, and he did everything. Me? I was just a little under the weather, but I let myself go today,” the two-time national champion voiced.
The Filipino pair, in an attempt to improve their chances of qualifying for the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina in 2026, is scheduled to compete in the 2025 Four Continent Figure Skating Championships at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul, South Korea, from February 19 to 23.