Filipino Alpine skier Francis Ceccarelli showed steady progress in his Winter Olympics debut, climbing from 57th to 54th place in the men’s Giant Slalom on Saturday (Milan time).

The 22-year-old, born in Quezon City and now living in Abetone, Tuscany, clocked 1:27.35 in the morning run and improved to 1:20.97 in the afternoon, finishing with a combined time of 2:48.32. He ranked fourth among nine Asian competitors, behind South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

Ceccarelli drew enthusiastic support from Filipinos in Italy, pumping his fist and pointing to the crowd after each run. Despite challenging snowy conditions that caused a dozen skiers—including three Italians—to fail to finish, he celebrated his performance with pride.

Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro took gold with 2:25.0, while Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt and Loic Meillard claimed silver and bronze.

Ceccarelli will return to the slopes on Monday for the Slalom, a shorter but more technical course with tighter turns.