CLOUD NINE, General Luna, Siargao Island (MindaNews/27 September) — Locals posted the highest scores in the opening round of the 20th Siargao International Surfing Competition here.
Showing quality tricks, former champion Piso Alcala garnered 16.50 points out of 20 for his two air stunts.
“There weren’t any [good] barrels out there today, so I had no choice but to take to the air,” Alcala said smiling.
“I hope there will be some barrels for us tomorrow because that’s what Cloud 9 is all about,” he added.
Last year, Alcala didn’t make to Round 4, but he is now hoping to get into the finals to make his hometown proud.
The second highest combined heat score was posted in Heat 1 by Carlito Nogalo, also from General Luna, whose power surfing and a barrel got him a total score of 15.25.
He bested last year’s winner Putra Hermawan from Indonesia, who finished in second place with a total score of 11.75.
Both surfers advanced to Round 2.
Rounding out the high scoring pool was young Mark “Marama” Tokong with a total score of 14.90. He used his bantamweight frame to complete some impressive airs and handily won his heat to advance to Rounds 2 and 3.
The 2014 Siargao International Surfing Cup is sanctioned by both the Association of Surfing Professionals and the Asian Surfing Championships.
The competition, with the assistance of the Philippine Surfing Federation, started on Friday and will end tomorrow, Sunday.
A total of US$15,000 will be given to the winners.
The 20th Siargao International Surfing Cup is presented by the MVP Group of Companies and Manila Mining Corporation and organized by the Municipality of General Luna and the Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte, with support from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, the Department of Tourism, Cloud 9 Boardriders Club and Fluid Surf. (Roel Catoto/MindaNews)