Defending women's pairs gold medalists Jo Edwards and Val Smith booked an appointment with destiny at the world bowls championships in Adelaide yesterday afternoon.

They prevailed in a gripping semifinal against the tenacious Philippines combination of Maila Witheridge and Ainie Knight to earn a spot in tomorrow's final against Australia's Rebecca Quail and Kelsey Cottrell over 18-ends at Lockleys Bowls Club.

The Black Jacks won their semifinal 13-12 in a four-hour marathon and will continue their quest for back-to-back world outdoor gold medals tomorrow.

Edwards and Smith always appeared in control of the match, but whenever they established what appeared to be a match-winning lead, the courageous Filipinos would dig deep to find something special to keep themselves in the game.

But in the wash-up, the best friends emerged victorious when the big points needed to be made.

And should they achieve successive gold medals, the question remains, will they commit to another four-year stint in a bid to match the legendary Irish combination of Margaret Johnston and Phillis Nolan, who won three consecutive women's pairs titles in 1988, 1992 and 1996.

Semifinal results:

Women's pairs: New Zealand beat Philippines 13-12, Australia beat Scotland 24-1.

Men's pairs: Scotland beat England 13-12, Australia beat Canada 23-14

- APNZ