MANILA, Philippines – After snagging a historic gold in the Asian Winter Games, the Philippine men’s curling team eyes a bigger goal — the Winter Olympics. 

The Philippine team, made up of Alan Frei, Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller, and Benjo Delarmente, is confident in the country’s chance of making it to the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy following its breakthrough gold in the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China.

“I strongly believe that we will be victorious at the pre-Olympic qualification event (in November). We’ve played some of the countries there, and we have already beaten them,” said Delarmente, who also works as the Curling Pilipinas president, in a press conference at Templar Hotel in Tagaytay on Sunda. 

The team defeated China in the semifinals and South Korea in the gold-medal match to snatch the historic Asian Winter Games title for the Philippines, a country that has no winter season. 

In 2024, the team won the gold medal in Division B of the Pancontinental Championships. That earned them an invitation to the Olympic pre-qualification event.

If the country tops the pre-Olympic qualifiers in November, they will then compete in an Olympic Qualifying event in December, where two Winter Olympic spots are up for grabs. 

Delarmente, an alternate player for the team, believes the team already has what it takes to compete against not just with the best of Asia but also with European countries, most of which are accustomed to the Winter Games. 

“When we face the likes of Germany and Austria, I think we have a much stronger team there,” he said. 

“So the Olympic qualification event in December will be the most important event, since all of those who have yet to qualify in the Olympics will be there, such as Japan, China, Korea, Germany, and Finland,” Delarmente added. 

The squad became the first Philippine team to notch a gold medal in the Asian Winter Games since the country first participated in 1990. 

The team hopes its win will spark an uprising of curling in the country, starting with physical education in schools and universities. 

Aside from youth integration, the Nationals also want to see the sport be a fixture of the country’s Olympic program, as Delarmente described curling as a combination of four well-known sports but on ice. 

“Our hope is we see curling in, at least, the physical education subjects in the country. Even if it would just be done on the floor. If we can simulate the sport even on the floor, then perhaps we can take this sport off,” Delarmente said. 

“I believe Filipinos can excel at curling, which is a combination of billiards, bowling, chess, and holen (marble),” he added. 

In the meantime, the team aims to use its monumental win as a building block to establish a bigger local curling program in the country, especially as the five-man squad was deemed the oldest in the continental tourney. 

“With this win, the possibilities are endless,” Delarmente said. “Hopefully, in the next five or 10 years, we could get the sport bigger in the country.”

“Curling is for everybody. You are not required to be 18 years old or in top shape to be in this sport.” – Rappler.com