MANILA, Philippines, February 15 ------ History for the Philippines. The Philippine curling team brought home a historic gold medal in the Harbin Asian Winter Games after outlasting powerhouse Korea, 5-3 at the Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines, made up of Marc and Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, Alan Frei and Benjo Delarmente, did just enough in the nerve-wracking final to grab the extraordinary feat.
With the final tied at 3-all after back-to-back points in the fifth and sixth ends, the Philippines took the lead for good thanks to a perfectly-placed second stone. The country was able to protect this stone until the end, which gave them the 4-3 lead. And in the eighth and final end, the Filipinos were able to put up guards that Korea could not get past.
Korea tried to grab a championship-winning two-pointer in the end, but ultimately pushed the Philippines’ stone closer to the house, giving them an extra point as a cherry on top. The Filipinos drew first blood in the second end, before Korea tied it up in the next one. The Philippines then scored two points in the fourth end with a picture-perfect final stone. The Koreans won back-to-back points in the fifth and sixth ends to tie the game up, setting up the furious finish.
This is the Philippines’ first-ever medal in the Asian Winter Games. It is also the first time the country fielded a curling team in the competition.
Source: philstar.com
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