The Philippines defeated South Korea, 5-3, to capture the men's curling team gold medal in the 9th Asian Winter Games Friday in Harbin, China.

It marched to the finals by getting past Japan and China on Thursday. This is the first gold medal won by the Philippines, a tropical country, in this tournament.

The team is expected to land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 Saturday around 10:30 pm where they will receive a warm welcome from the Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann, Philippine Sports Commissioner Olivia ‘Bong’ Coo, and Executive Director Paulo Francisco Tatad.

The Philippines will engage in two pre-qualifying tournaments by October and December for a chance to qualify for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

The Philippine contingent is composed of athletes Marc Angelo Pfister, Enrico Gabriel Pfister, Christian Patrick Haller, Alan Beat Frei, Curling Winter Sports Association of the Philippines president Benjo Delarmente, including team officials Jessica Sarah Pfister and Miguel Gutierrez.

Arriving together with the national squad are Harbin 2025 Chef de Mission (CDM) Richard Lim, Asst. CDM Paolo Tancontian, and Curling Pilipinas secretary-general Jarryd Bello.

The sport is considered novel in the Philippines, having been given recognition by the World Curling three years ago.

“The historic victory of the country in men’s curling marks a significant milestone in the growing dynamics of Philippine sports,” said Bachmann. DMS