THE Philippines finished fifth place after it swamped Oman, 3-0, in the fifth to eighth playoff semifinal of the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group 2 competition at the Bahrain Tennis Federation hard courts last Friday.
Marian Jade Capadocia led the way after she clobbered Aisha Suleimani, 6-1, 6-0, in the first singles.
Then, Khim Iglupas prevailed over Maryam Al Balushi, 6-2, 6-1, in the second singles to hand the Filipinas a 2-0 lead.
Anna Clarice Patrimonio and Filipino-German Katharina Lehnert clinched the tie for the Philippines when they stopped Suleimani and Balushi, 6-1, 6-0, in the doubles.
The Philippines had a chance to return to Group 1.
But they missed the opportunity after finishing only second to Singapore at the end of the Pool B round-robin first round.
The Philippines was then relegated to Group 2 after losing all four of its ties in the Group 1 competition held in Astana, Kazakhstan last year.
They now have a 2-0 record in their head-to-head record with Oman.
The last time they met, the Philippines won, 2-1, in their first-round meeting in Shenzhen, China six years ago.
Team Philippines banked on the experience of Patrimonio, Lehnert and Iglupas, who last played together in the 2017 SEA Games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.