By MARK REY MONTEJO
The Philippines fell short of an assured medal after absorbing a 10-3 loss to Japan in the mixed doubles semifinal round of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China Friday, Feb. 7.
Coming off a 7-2 win over Chinese Taipei in the qualification earlier in the day, Fil-Swiss Marc Pfister and Fil-American Kathleen Dubberstein failed to sustain their momentum as the Japanese stamped their class and dominated the match right away.
Tori Koan and Go Aoki, the No. 5 pair in the world mixed doubles ranking, just proved to be too much for the Philippine side, establishing a 7-2 lead and never looked back since then to book the final ticket.
With the loss, the Filipinos are relegated to the bronze medal match where they will be facing once again the Chinese duo of Han Yu and Wang Zhiyu.
Although the country’s hopes are not lost for the Filipino’s first podium finish in the quadrennial meet, Pfister and Dubberstein are facing a daunting task in the bronze medal match especially that their Chinese counterparts had already defeated them, 9-6, in the group stage.
On the other hand, the unblemished Japan clashes with South Korea, which scored an 8-4 victory over China in the semis, for the golden honor.
Both gold and bronze medals games are happening on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Prior to its semis duel against Japan, the Philippines finished second in Group B with four wins – including a 12-6 upset triumph against South Korea – and one loss.
Riding the momentum from the strong showing in their previous games, the Filipinos actually held their ground with a 2-2 count after two ends.
Class and experience, however, started to show up for the Japanese in the ensuing frames, listing four point in the third end and another three in the sixth end to pull away for good.
Earlier in the men’s short track speed skating events, Fil-American skater Peter Groseclose qualified for the men’s 1500m semifinal and 1000m and 500m quarterfinal rounds which will all happen this Saturday, Feb. 8.
The 17-year-old Groseclose barged into the next round after placing fourth in the 1500m quarters while second in 1000m and 500m heats.
He, alongside curler Dubberstein, will be serving as the country’s flag-bearers for the continental showpiece opening ceremony tonight.
