Siargao surfers dominate international surfing tilt

GENERAL LUNA, Siargao Island (MindaNews / 18 Oct) – Two local surfers here have clinched the victory as the 26th Siargao International Surfing Cup resumed after three years of hiatus due to the pandemic, coupled with a super typhoon that flattened the island less than 10 months ago.

_{John Mark “Marama” Tokong in the barrel leading to his victory in the 26th Siargao International Surfing Cup. Photo courtesy of World Surf League/Tom Bennet}

John Mark “Marama” Tokong and Nilbie Blancada claimed the title for men and women’s heats, respectively, during the final game of the surfing cup held in Cloud 9 in the municipality of General Luna in the surfing capital of the Philippines Monday afternoon.

Tokong beat Indonesia’s Oney Anwar in the final game with a near-excellent 15.80 two-wave combinations. This is his third title in this competition after he was declared champion in 2015 and 2019.

“The pair went wave for wave, each posting solid heat totals but Tokong once again was too strong, finding deeper, longer tubes, to post a near-excellent 15.80 two-wave combination (out of a possible 20) to once again be chaired to the famous boardwalk a victor,” the World Surf League (WSL) said in a statement.

Blancada, on the other hand, captured a historic win as it was the first time the men’s and women’s events ran as one and the first time a Filipino woman has won a WSL-rated event.

She defeated Japanese Challenger Series hopeful Anon Matsuoka as she threaded some long tubes during the final game.

Tokong and Blancada took home $2,500 each for their winnings.

Two other Filipino surfers also made it to the quarterfinals, namely, Philmar Alipayo and Robert Magaluna. Both of them bagged the third spot receiving $1,000 each.

The surfing cup was supposed to be a week-long event but culminated on its third day.

Tom Bennet, media and communications senior manager of WSL Asia Pacific, said that surfing competitions usually have six days of runtime and could last a total of at least seven days, including the waiting period. As it turned out, there were “incredible waves” in the first three days of the competition “so there’s no need for us to stop at all and we finished the event before the period,” he added.

The 26th Siargao International Surfing Cup is a WSL Qualifying Series 1,000 event that will help decide the regional rankings ahead of the 2023 WSL Challenger Series.

According to WSL, over 80 of Asia’s best Challenger Series have participated in the surfing cup. (Ivy Marie A. Mangadlao / MindaNews)