History has been made in Philippine surfing as the first ever Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT) completed one of the four legs in its maiden tour. The 19th Siargao National Surfing Cup, which ran from September 15 to 21, showed the hungry enthusiasm from the 186 surfers from different parts of the country.
You could say that almost everybody was at Siargao for this historic tour. Familiar faces that you would usually see at their home breaks, you would see walking on the iconic boardwalk of Cloud 9.
Once the registration opened, the Cloud 9 Tower 1 was packed with tanned and sun-bleached surfers teeming with excitement. It was quite funny when the orientation started because one of the speakers were speaking Tagalog, almost half of the participants seemed silent either unable to decipher what was said probably because of another different
Opening Day
With the huge amount of participants, it was exciting to witness surfers from all corners of the country battle it out on the country’s premier surf break. There were a lot of memorable highlights in the five days of the competition like the youngest competitor, 8 year-old Kaikai Alcala competing against other surfers twice his size and 14 year-old Gabriel Lerog with the only completed aerial during the first day.
Day Two
Day two showed us first time competitor Juramz Ariate from Lanuza, Surigao del Sur being one of the few who made it in and out of the barrels that Cloud 9 offered that day. The lone representative from Cagayan de Oro City, Miguel Paez, also showed a memorable performance, despite having the nearest surf spot from CDO is a 3 hour drive away.
Day Three
During the third day, conditions gearing up perfectly, allowing the remaining heats of Round 1 to be completed and 10 heats of Round 2 to get done by late afternoon.The highest total heat score of Round 1 came from Cloud 9 local Eduardo “Tata” Alciso, who racked up an amazing 16.75 score and Peter Paul Alipayo’s showstopper, where he surprised everyone by executing a critical backside 360 on the inside during the dying seconds of his heat.
First timer in Cloud 9 and former grommet big wave charger from Catanduanes Island, Johnny King, unleashed a series of powerful snaps to earn an 8.75, the second highest single wave score of Day 3, while local favorite Mike Canon posted a 12.75 total heat score by consistently delivering powerful snaps and roundhouse cutbacks on each wave he took.
Day Four
Cloud 9 didn’t disappoint as the competitors were treated to glassy barreling goodness for the first half of the Day 4 of the competition. Jefferson Dela Torre from Baler/La Union put on an exciting performance against younger surfers Remar Magaluna, Peter Paul Alipayo and Mike Canon during the afternoon heat.
2016 Siargao National Surfing Cup champion John Mark Tokong posted the highest total heat score of the day in Round 4 as the day was nearing sunset. First time competitor, Davao surfer and professional skimboarder Sonny Boy Aporbo from Mati, Davao Oriental with skills honed through surfing finless, also progressed into Round 5.
The Top 16 surfers who competed in the WSL Qualifying Series last year were automatically seeded in Round 4 of the contest and the remaining days, the audience witnessed an epic battle of the best Filipino surfers as they compete for a spot in the quarters, semis and finals.
Watch out for next week’s article for the highlights of the fifth and last day of the 19th National Siargao Surfing Cup. Catch up on the other happenings in the Philippine surfing at www.millennialmermaid.com
