Isabella Gamez & Aleksandr Korovin | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Isabella Gamez & Aleksandr Korovin

The entry lists are out for Asian Winter Games. In pairs skating, it will be Isabella and Alexander for the Philippines, the Uzbekistans, two Japanese pairs, North Koreans and Chinese pair. I am really hopeful for the Philippines first medal at Asian Winter Games, and Isabella and Alexander seem to be in a good position to do so with these entries. Keeping my fingers crossed for these two!

Well, looks like the short program went well! They are in fourth place and within striking distance for the bronze medal, possibly the silver. I am going to get up at 6am tomorrow to watch the free skate. :)
 
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A valient effort from Bella and Sasha! But sadly no podium this time.
Belinda Noonan commented on the great quality of their pair elements: death spiral, lifts, twist, etc. But the nemesis continues to be the jumps...
There's one more chance next week, at 4CC, to qualify for Worlds! Praying for a miracle...and some kind judges.
 
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Interview with Gamez and Korovin on their fourth-place finish at AWG. They needed to skate clean here for a shot at the podium. They'll be looking for a clean skate next week at 4CC in order to get minimums for Worlds.

Gamez: “It’s just the nerves that really caught up to me. I just wanted to represent our flag so much and be strong, but mentally I wasn’t there...That’s what we need to improve for us to be successful and raise our Philippine flag.”

“For us, it’s not what we need to do physically, but it’s what we need to do more mentally. We need to make a quick change mentally. You know, I really let myself out. Aleksandr did good, he did his job, and he did everything. Me? I was just a little under the weather, but I let myself go today."

Korovin: “Improvement since three years ago? Yes, so it’s a big jump, but we still need to be more confident in ourselves.”
 
Interview with Gamez and Korovin on their fourth-place finish at AWG. They needed to skate clean here for a shot at the podium. They'll be looking for a clean skate next week at 4CC in order to get minimums for Worlds.

Gamez: “It’s just the nerves that really caught up to me. I just wanted to represent our flag so much and be strong, but mentally I wasn’t there...That’s what we need to improve for us to be successful and raise our Philippine flag.”

“For us, it’s not what we need to do physically, but it’s what we need to do more mentally. We need to make a quick change mentally. You know, I really let myself out. Aleksandr did good, he did his job, and he did everything. Me? I was just a little under the weather, but I let myself go today."

Korovin: “Improvement since three years ago? Yes, so it’s a big jump, but we still need to be more confident in ourselves.”
Too bad for Isabella and Alexander, but even if they skated clean, would it have been enough with Uzbekistan, North Korea and Japanese tech panel and judges? Philippines has no judge…

Isabella and Alexander did decent in the SP, but were once again underscored going into the FS, which you have to wonder how that affects them mentally each competition. Example: they got a level 1 twist with comparable GOE points to North Korea whose twist wasn’t clean in SP while Japanese team are still doing a double twist well into their second season.

Just want to add that I love the promise of the young Japanese team and generally the Asian pairs, but it’s clear GamKor have many obstacles, which I will continue to root for them to overcome by some miracle.
 
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Too bad for Isabella and Alexander, but even if they skated clean, would it have been enough with Uzbekistan, North Korea and Japanese tech panel and judges? Philippines has no judge…

Isabella and Alexander did decent in the SP, but were once again underscored going into the FS, which you have to wonder how that affects them mentally each competition. Example: they got a level 1 twist with comparable GOE points to North Korea whose twist wasn’t clean in SP while Japanese team are still doing a double twist well into their second season.

Just want to add that I love the promise of the young Japanese team and generally the Asian pairs, but it’s clear GamKor have many obstacles, which I will continue to root for them to overcome by some miracle.
Yeah, I can't say for sure they would have gotten a medal even with a clean skate. In the short, G/K, R/H, and N/M had almost the same technical scores, but G/K were awarded lower PCS. If G/K had skated a clean free, they would have again gotten technical scores similiar to R/H and N/M, but who knows if they would have gotten enough PCS to get on the podium. It would have been a very close competition.

I hadn't thought about the psychological impact. So that gives me insight into what G/K might mean when they say they need to trust themselves and have confidence. Maybe the Philippines' gold in curling at Asian Games will give them a boost! That team was not predicted to win, and they fought hard to the end.
 
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Good luck to Alexander and Isabella tonight in the free skate! It's their last chance to get minimums for worlds. May fortune favor the bold!
Here is a photo from their free skate at Asian Winter Games last week. I like the costume change for Alexander, by the way.

harbin-china-isabella-marie-gamez-and-aleksandr-korovin-of-philippines-competes-in-the-figure.jpg
 
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Our pair sadly didn't make the minimum TES for Worlds. Their season has come to an end, but not without some victories. They've consistently scored in the 150s this year and they get positive GOE on all elements except jumps. But with jumps there is also improvement: in the 4CC free skate they received base value for their 3S SBS jump for the first time ever. If they can get a steady 3S for next season, it could improve their total TES by as much as 8 points and set them firmly in the midpack.

I think it might have helped them to have had more competitions this year- they did fewer in comparison to other pairs. But they also had Sasha's naturalization process in Manila in the middle of the season and that was important.

I hope they're able to rest now, and I'm very much looking forward to what they can prepare for the Olympic qualifier in September. I really believe they are on track to peak and show some amazing results. Stay healthy and keep smiling!

Below a gorgeous 4CC photo from one of my fav skating photographers, Rainiero Corbelletti.

AP1GczP0Y-_5DJiazVkn_pk4uJheZFxWN_7FeJlIxipjhGw5L2Lerc5x-vytb4_uQivPZEGyYQROHwM6k0YrO-9PPpaq6B4ngx6w-zlAZcaRp3uK9WWI1IG5FLCFS2N8bvpvkExn_jWA0RWdmKy8a08VLsWYHA=w2287-h1263-s-no-gm
 
They've consistently scored in the 150s this year and they get positive GOE on all elements except jumps.
It's a Fan Fest thread, so will try to stay positive to cheer on Isabella and Alexander. :laugh3: However my complaint about the judges continues for this pair and other small federation teams. The judges are really not giving Gamez and Korovin the GOEs they should be getting (especially for the twist and lifts) despite their huge improvements. It was sooooo obvious for their free skate at 4CC. It wasn't a perfect skate, but they should be credited with what they do well. Isabella and Alexander should have gotten higher scores to have made the Worlds tech mins, but I agree they probably didn't do enough competitions this season which probably hurt them from getting higher scores in some other B competitions (like the Austria, Switzerland, etc. pair teams) as a benchmark.

 
It's a Fan Fest thread, so will try to stay positive to cheer on Isabella and Alexander. :laugh3: However my complaint about the judges continues for this pair and other small federation teams. The judges are really not giving Gamez and Korovin the GOEs they should be getting (especially for the twist and lifts) despite their huge improvements. It was sooooo obvious for their free skate at 4CC. It wasn't a perfect skate, but they should be credited with what they do well. Isabella and Alexander should have gotten higher scores to have made the Worlds tech mins, but I agree they probably didn't do enough competitions this season which probably hurt them from getting higher scores in some other B competitions (like the Austria, Switzerland, etc. pair teams) as a benchmark.


Yeah, I agree, like some judges gave them zero GOE for their 4CC triple twists, really? zero?? and how are they getting equal or worse PCS than brand new teams who are obviously still working on basic pair skills?
I really think that once G/K get those SBS jumps down, judges will reward their consistency and the rest of their elements will ride the wave. It could also help them skate cleaner, because if they are super stressed out by those early SBS jumps, they are likely stressed out for the rest of the program. I hope the improvement will come in time for the Beijing qualifier, but if not, this team has so much potential for Challengers, Grand Prix, Worlds. They have it to be on the podium and I am cheering them on 100%!
 
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They have potential?

Korovin is a great partner. She has no potential. Too bad he ended partnership with Alysa
Yeah, I agree, like some judges gave them zero GOE for their 4CC triple twists, really? zero?? and how are they getting equal or worse PCS than brand new teams who are obviously still working on basic pair skills?
I really think that once G/K get those SBS jumps down, judges will reward their consistency and the rest of their elements will ride the wave. It could also help them skate cleaner, because if they are super stressed out by those early SBS jumps, they are likely stressed out for the rest of the program. I hope the improvement will come in time for the Beijing qualifier, but if not, this team has so much potential for Challengers, Grand Prix, Worlds. They have it to be on the podium and I am cheering them on 100%!
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They have potential?

Korovin is a great partner. She has no potential. Too bad he ended partnership with Alysa
I wouldn't write them off just yet. They made great progress last summer and came out pretty strong at John Nicks. I think it will all come down to those SBS jumps. The Beijing qualifier is gonna be a killer tho for pairs. If they don't get an Olympic spot, I wonder if Korovin would continue another quad since he's already 31. I also think there's a high probability that the war in Ukraine will end and Russia will be admitted back to competition this coming season. This will put alot of pressure on the pairs that haven't broken into the midpack yet.
 
Asian Open Trophy in Manila, 3rd out of 3.
A shaky start to the season for Gamez/Korovin. I hope they can get back up to their previous levels before the Kinoshita Cup challenger. But I love the new programs and costumes! The Malagueña music was selected and choreographed by their previous coach Marina Zoueva.

Gamez Korovin post competition interview.

Asian-Open-Figure-Skating-Trophy-2025-8936.jpg
 
Bella and Sasha went back to last year's long program for Four Continents. They finished 10th.
I heard in another forum that this would be their last competition. They do not have the minimums to go to Worlds this year.
Whatever their plans, I wish them the best of luck! They have truly blazed a trail and I hope many more Filipino skaters will follow.

beijing-china-isabella-gamez-and-aleksandr-korovin-of-philippines-compete-in-the-pairs-free.jpg
 
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