Members of the Korean men's curling team pose for photos on the podium after winning silver at the Asian Winter Games at Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena in Harbin, China, Feb. 14. From left are Lee Jae-beom, Kim Hyo-jun, Kim Eun-bin, Pyo Jeong-min and Kim Jin-hun. Yonhap

South orea fell to the Philippines to take silver in men's curling at the Asian Winter Games in China on Friday.

Led by skip Lee Jae-beom, Korea suffered its first loss of the competition when the Philippines pulled out a 5-3 win in the gold medal game at Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena in Harbin.

Korea wasn't as sharp with its shotmaking as it had been in earlier matches, including in a 6-1 win over the same Philippines team during the round-robin phase on Sunday.

Korea had won two of the past three men's curling gold medals in Asian Winter Games before this year.

The Philippines scored the first point in the second end, with Lee unable to execute a hit and roll to take out an opponent rock.

Korea tied the game at 1-1 in the third end, as Lee atoned for his earlier miscue with a successful draw with the final stone.

But then the Philippines grabbed two points in the fourth end, with skip Marc Pfister's takeout giving his side a 3-1 lead.

Lee's draw to the center of the house gave Korea a point in the fifth end, and the team pulled even at 3-3 with another point in the sixth end after Pfister's double takeout attempt went awry.

The Philippines responded immediately with a point in the seventh end and took a 4-3 lead into the final frame.

In the eighth end, Korea pushed its second-to-last stone into the house but farther from the center than a Philippines stone already in the area. With his last rock, Pfister placed a guard to protect its stone in the middle.

Needing a point to force the extra session, Lee boldly went for a takeout that would have given his side two points for the gold, but the stone hit a guard on its way toward the house instead. That gave the Philippines one final point for the victory.

Lee rued the mistake at the end of the second frame, where a successful shot would have given Korea four points.

Instead, the Philippines stole a point for some early momentum and went on to take the gold.

"It was an opportunity to score a bunch of points," Lee said. "I tried to forget about that situation and tried to focus on the remaining ends. We had an opportunity but couldn't capitalize on it."

Lee, the oldest member of this youthful squad at age 23, also blamed himself for the missed shot with the very last stone of the game.

"I was confident with that shot, but I called for sweeping later than I should have," the skip said. "If I had done it earlier, the shot would have been successful."

Pyo Jeong-min and Kim Eun-bin sweep the ice while Kim Hyo-jun, far back, instructs the teammates during the Asian Winter Games men's curling gold medal game against the Philippines at Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena in Harbin, China, Feb. 14. Yonhap

His teammates said Korea didn't lose just because of the skip's miscue.

"It wasn't just on Jae-beom. It was everyone's fault," Pyo Jeong-min said of the shot in the second end. "This was a letdown for us, but we'll regroup and get ready for the world championships (starting in March). We will try to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics."

Just as his athletes did, head coach Lee Dong-keun shed tears after the loss. But he noted the future is still bright for the team of 20-something curlers.

"This group of guys could stay together for 20 more years," the coach said. "Our curlers and others in the same age group are growing by leaps and bounds. I think the dynamics of world curling will change dramatically within the next five years. Young athletes will take over."

Lee said his curlers must learn how to deal with the pressure of big competitions and must improve their strategizing.

"They will have to control their emotions better," the coach added. "They will have to overcome that to get to the highest level."

The Korean women's team will go for gold later Friday, the final day of the ninth Winter Asiad. (Yonhap)