AOMORI (Kyodo) Team Aomori beat Team Nagano in a playoff Saturday to secure a berth as Japan's representative in the women's curling competition at next February's Vancouver Olympics.
Team Aomori posted its second straight victory over Team Nagano, which had won through the first round, and triumphed 4-0 overall to make its second straight Winter Games.
Team Aomori, which gained popularity across Japan with a valiant run at the 2006 Turin Olympics, had been given a two-game advantage in the playoff after claiming its fourth consecutive title at the national championships.
After trailing 5-2 in the first game, Team Aomori came back to win 7-6 in overtime and prevailed 12-3 in the second after Team Nagano conceded after eight ends.