PH curling team wins gold at Asian Winter Games
THE Philippine national men's curling team made history on Friday by winning the country's first-ever Asian Winter Games gold medal in Harbin, China. Wikipedia describes curling as a sport in which two teams of four players each slide polished granite stones called rocks on a surface of ice toward a target area or the house. The stone that ends up the closest to the house earns a point. The team with the highest number of points wins the game. During the final game in Harbin, the quintet of Marc Angelo Pfister, Alan Beat Frei, Christian Patrick Haller, Enrico Gabriel Pfister and Benjo Delarmente defeated the favorites, South Korea, 5-3, to clinch the victory. Although they led 3-1 after the first half, the team staved off a comeback by the Koreans before the last two ends of the game that saw them get 2 points to secure the win. The Koreans had defeated the Filipinos in the first round robin matchup 6-1, but the Filipinos defeated Kazakhstan 4-1, Kyrgyzstan 12-2, and Taiwan 11-3, before dominating Japan 10-4, in the qualifications. On Thursday, the Philippines faced host China in the semifinals. China led 4-1 in the first half, but the nationals rallied and eventually pulled ahead, 7-6. "Mabuhay Pilipinas!" the team said in a video posted by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Friday. The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said the curlers' victory is the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian team in the Asian Winter Games. The Philippines had never won any medals at the Asian Winter Games and became only the second Southeast Asian country to win a medal at the Games. Thailand's Paul Vieuxtemps took the bronze in the men's freestyle skiing slopestyle event. In a congratulatory statement on Friday, POC Chairman Richard Bachmann said that "more than just a milestone," the Philippine curling team's victory "is the result of strong collaboration between the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission..." "We strongly believe that this achievement is just the beginning of our historic rise on ice for the Philippines. Our remarkable performance at the Asian Winter Games lays the foundation for the greater challenge of achieving Winter Olympic and world-level success in the years to come," Bachmann said. The Harbin Games drew to a close on Friday. Saudi Arabia will host the 2029 edition.
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
THE Philippine national men's curling team made history on Friday by winning the country's first-ever Asian Winter Games gold medal in Harbin, China.
Wikipedia describes curling as a sport in which two teams of four players each slide polished granite stones called rocks on a surface of ice toward a target area or the house.
The stone that ends up the closest to the house earns a point. The team with the highest number of points wins the game.
During the final game in Harbin, the quintet of Marc Angelo Pfister, Alan Beat Frei, Christian Patrick Haller, Enrico Gabriel Pfister and Benjo Delarmente defeated the favorites, South Korea, 5-3, to clinch the victory.
Although they led 3-1 after the first half, the team staved off a comeback by the Koreans before the last two ends of the game that saw them get 2 points to secure the win.
The Koreans had defeated the Filipinos in the first round robin matchup 6-1, but the Filipinos defeated Kazakhstan 4-1, Kyrgyzstan 12-2, and Taiwan 11-3, before dominating Japan 10-4, in the qualifications.
On Thursday, the Philippines faced host China in the semifinals. China led 4-1 in the first half, but the nationals rallied and eventually pulled ahead, 7-6.
"Mabuhay Pilipinas!" the team said in a video posted by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Friday.
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said the curlers' victory is the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian team in the Asian Winter Games.
The Philippines had never won any medals at the Asian Winter Games and became only the second Southeast Asian country to win a medal at the Games.
Thailand's Paul Vieuxtemps took the bronze in the men's freestyle skiing slopestyle event.
In a congratulatory statement on Friday, POC Chairman Richard Bachmann said that "more than just a milestone," the Philippine curling team's victory "is the result of strong collaboration between the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission..."
"We strongly believe that this achievement is just the beginning of our historic rise on ice for the Philippines. Our remarkable performance at the Asian Winter Games lays the foundation for the greater challenge of achieving Winter Olympic and world-level success in the years to come," Bachmann said.
The Harbin Games drew to a close on Friday. Saudi Arabia will host the 2029 edition.
