The Philippine pair Marc Pfister and Kathleen Dubberstein failed to convert their strong start to a medal in the Harbin Asian Winter Games, finishing fourth in curling mixed doubles.
Team Philippines squandered a strong start as they fell to hosts China, 6-5, in the bronze medal match of the mixed doubles event in Curling at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin on Saturday morning.
After a strong 4-0 start at the end of the second, Marc Pfister and Kathleen Dubberstein could not sustain their momentum as the Chinese pair Zhiyu Wang and Yu Han claimed the last place on the podium with a comeback effort.
Pfister and Dubberstein were down 6-4 heading into the 8th, but could only manage a point as they fell short of tying China’s output as they settled for the fourth place finish.
Despite missing out on the medal, Pfister and Dubberstein made it an impressive campaign for a nation that is deemed a newcomer in the sport as they plowed through the competition in the group stage.
Only China was able to beat the Philippines in group play.
In the semifinals, Japan nipped the Philippines, 10-3, which sent the Filipino duo stumbling into the battle for bronze.
Meanwhile, in the final, Japan came away with the gold with a 7-6 escape act against Korea.
Still, there’s still a lot to play for Pfister and Dubberstein with their other events still lined up as the Harbin Winter Games get going.
In the other results on Saturday morning, Peter Groseclose failed to move on to the finals of his first event in Short Track Speed Skating, the men’s 1500m semifinals.
Still, like the curling duo, Groseclose still has a number of events lined up in the hopes of giving the Philippines a good campaign in Harbin.