HARBIN, China—Seasoned by the daily grind in practice, Isabella Gamez isn’t concerned much about the seamless execution of her routine with Aleksandr Korovin.

“For us, it’s not what we need to do physically. It’s what we need to do more mentally,’’ said Gamez after the Filipino pair missed out on a medal in figure skating at the 9th Asian Winter Games.

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Except for a couple of missteps, Gamez and Korovin looked splendid on ice as they tallied 155.62 points after their four-minute performance, good for fourth overall among six contenders in the medal round of the pairs free skating event.

READ: Asian Winter Games: PH ice skaters ‘looking to win a medal’

“Aleksandr did his job, he did good. But I let myself go today, it’s just the nerves really caught up to me,’’ said Gamez, who partnered with the naturalized Filipino-Russian Korovin for over three years in several overseas competitions.

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“I wanted just to represent our flag so much and be strong, but my mentality wasn’t there. That has to be improved for us to be successful,’’ added Gamez.

Harbin 2025 – Asian Winter Games – Figure Skating – Mixed Pair Skating Free Skating – HIC Multifunctional Hall, Harbin, China – February 12, 2025 Philippines’ Isabella Marie Gamez falls as she performs with Aleksandr Korovin during the Mixed Pair Skating Free Skating REUTERS/Issei Kato

Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev picked up the gold medal late Wednesday evening at the HIC Multifunctional Hall here with a masterful acrobatic drill that netted 176.43 points.

North Korea’s Tae Ok Ryom and Kum Chol Han (168.88) marginally grabbed the silver medal from the favored Japanese couple of Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (168.35), who satisfied themselves with the bronze.

READ: PH figure skating gets boost with law naturalizing skater Korovin

“It’s a big jump since the first season of our skate program, but we still need to be more confident in ourselves,’’ said Korovin.

Both are the first pair from Southeast Asia and the Philippines to qualify and compete in the final segment of the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships. They are likewise the first international medalists for the country in pairs skating.

Gamez and Korovin also accomplished a feat no Filipino had ever achieved when both seized silver medals from the elite Trophee Metropole Nice Cote d’Azur twice in 2023 and 2024.

READ: PH sends 20 bets to Winter Games

They’re likewise eyeing history of becoming the first skating pair from the SEA region to waltz in the Winter Olympics exactly a year from now in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

The Florida-based Gamez has encamped in Sochi, Russia with Korovin for quite sometime whenever there’s no tournament to be played along with their Russian coaches Dmitri Savin and Fedor Klimov.

“I have a great team and a great country behind us, I just have to believe in myself,’’ said Gamez.

There are two paths for Gamez and Korovin to the Winter Olympics—the forthcoming ISU World Figure Skating Championships on March 25-30 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts and the world Olympic qualifier in Beijing sometime in September or October.

“Aleksandr and our coaches are very supportive. At the end of the day, I need to trust myself and my training that I’m going to make this qualification work,’’ said Gamez.

They’ll begin polishing their routine in time for another big tournament–the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea from February 19-23.