Scoring three stones in the sixth end, Team Philippines broke away from a tight contest to defeat Chinese Taipei, 12–5, on Saturday and advance to the semifinals of the ongoing 2025 Pan Continental Curling Championships in Eveleth, Minnesota.
With the match tied at 5-all, skip Kathleen Dubberstein and her squad delivered a decisive three-stone end to seize an 8–5 lead, pulling away in the final frames of the women’s Division B competition.
“They need to win the entire tournament to move up to Division A alongside the men,” said coach Miggy Gutierrez. “This year’s event is especially crucial since it’s the last under this qualifying format before major changes take effect.”
The Filipinas swept their six preliminary matches and will face Hong Kong in the semifinals. Kazakhstan, which edged Hong Kong 7–6 to finish 4–2, booked the other semifinal slot against Puerto Rico, which shared the same record.
In the men’s draw, Marc Pfister’s Philippine squad bounced back with a 7–3 win over Sean Becker’s New Zealand team. The Filipinos stormed ahead 5–0 after four ends to record their second victory in six outings and stay in contention for a semifinal berth — and a possible ticket to the 2026 World Championships.
Team USA beat China 8–5, while Canada downed Japan 8–3 to remain unbeaten after six games and firm up their grip on the top playoff spots.
