PH curling duo Dubberstein, Pfister fall short of historic bronze in Asian Winter Games

MANILA, Philippines – A historic medal in the Asian Winter Games remained elusive for the Philippines as the curling duo of Kathleen Dubberstein and Marc Pfister fell short of the bronze in mixed doubles action on Saturday, February 8.

Dubberstein and Pfister absorbed a stinging 6-5 loss to host China in the battle for bronze at the Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena as they stumbled in their bid to win the country its first-ever medal in the continental showdown.

Earning a shot at redemption after losing to China’s Han Yu and Wang Zhiyu in group play, the Filipino duo mounted a 4-0 lead after the first two ends.

But Dubbersten and Pfister went scoreless in the next five ends and saw the Chinese pair surge ahead, with home bets Han and Wang completing the podium that includes gold medalist Japan and silver medalist South Korea.

“I thought we played not that bad, the experience was not just there,” said Pfister, who suited up for the Switzerland curling team before acquiring a Philippine passport.

The Philippines missed out on a guaranteed medal after bowing to Japan’s Tori Koana and Go Aoki, 10-3, in the semifinals on Friday, February 7.

Japan went on to capture the top prize with a 7-6 win over South Korea in the final.

Meanwhile, speed skater Peter Groseclose failed to reach the medal rounds of 1,500m and 500m events in the men’s short track competitions at the HIC Multifunctional Hall.

The 17-year-old Groseclose finished 17th overall as a semifinalist in 1,500m and 12th overall as a quarterfinalist in 500m.

Groseclose still has a shot at a medal as he competes in the 1,000m event on Sunday, February 9.

Over in alpine skiing, Tallulah Proulx placed 16th out of 45 participants in women’s slalom, clocking a total time of 1:53.42 following her two runs at the Alpine Skiing Slalom Stadium.

The Philippines has plenty of chances to win a medal as it has a total of 20 athletes competing in the ninth edition of the Asian Winter Games. – Rappler.com