TEAM Philippines is now in a must-situation after bowing to Team USA, 9-3, on Wednesday (Philippine time) in the 8-nation Olympic Qualification Event at the Kelowna Curling Club in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
The win put the Daniel Casper-skippered USA side in contention for the top two seedings in their coming first-round qualification encounter with China, which swept its six-game elimination round assignment.
China, which put away Poland, 7-0, will get the top seeding in the qualification phase if it gets past Japan on Thursday.
Japan is now at third with a 4-2 slate and a setback in its final encounter will allow the Philippines to seek the third seeding in the playoffs.
Team Philippines is currently tied with the Netherlands with their 3-3 slates at fourth position.
This will make the Filipinos’ final elimination-round game with South Korean an important one.
“We need to win, plus China beating Japan, plus USA beating Netherlands to move us to the third seed,” Miggy Gutierrez told the Manila Standard.
Team USA took a 4-0 lead after the first two ends, before the Filipinos responded with a stone scored in third.
“It’s a high-stakes’ scenario and Team Philippines must deliver its best performance against Korea yet, while hoping for the right results elsewhere,” added Gutierrez.
The loser of that USA-China game will then face the third-seeded team in the second qualification round.
This will then determine which teams will earn a ticket to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina. Peter Atencio
