The final day of the 20th Siargao National Surfing Cup was one full of tense excitement. Bets were drawn and the crowds were wowed as both Juniors and Men’s Open finalists displayed their surfing prowess at a pumping Cloud 9.
In an epic 30-minute heat, fellow Siargao surfers and Philippine surfing teammates John Mark “Marama” Tokong and Piso Alcala battled it out for the title of PSCT 20th Siargao National Surfing Cup Men’s Shortboard Open Champion.
No stranger to winning, these two seasoned surfers made it clear to everybody their mastery of majestic Cloud 9. Whether it was 6-foot or 3-foot waves, Alcala and Tokong gave the crowd and the judges the show that they were looking for.
“I’m so stoked! I’m glad the waves were firing during the finals and that I was able to get some good barrels!” said an ecstatic Tokong after finishing the final heat.
“I tried to go even deeper because I wanted to win but as you saw, I got quite a lot of wipeouts in this heat but then I also got a 9.75 score on one wave and that was awesome!” Tokong adds.
For the whole competition, Tokong had been leading the scores in the Men’s Shortboard Open and even in the finals, nailing a combined total heat score of 19.20 and a 9.75, the highest single wave score in the whole competition.
“I’ve really been training hard, especially if I know there’s a competition. I want to get better and better,” Tokong said. “I also want to be a good role model for the kids here. They’re the future—the future of surfing and the future of Siargao.” he adds
Second place for the Men’s Shortboard Division is fellow Siargao local Piso Alcala with a 17.60 combined total score, who also has a Siargao National Cup champion title under him. For the Juniors, we have Siargao’s Gabriel Lerog with a 9.00 combined total.
Tokong shares how wonderful it is to have PSCT bring Philippine surfing to a whole new level by adding the Juniors Division to each of their legs, starting with the Siargao National Surfing Cup.
“Now kids can get to see how professional surfing is done and if they start young like me, who knows how far their potential can go?” Tokong continues.
The Juniors Division final heat comprise of Gabriel Lerog, Benjomar Canon, Noah Arkfield, and Marino Figuron. It was interesting to see the competitive spirit of these young surfers fearlessly ride wave after wave, not leaving anything to chance.
At the onset, it was Lerog leading until Canon was able to score a 6.50, upsetting Lerog’s lead. In an attempt to regain the lead, Lerog grabbed every chance to barrel left-handers but Canon didn’t make things easy for him as he too would use his priority by riding almost the same waves that Canon did. These two young Siargaonons were seen riding both ends of pumping Cloud 9 making the crowd go wild each time they’d be seen shooting out of the barrel.
A lack of completed rides caused Lerog the lead while Canon earned a total heat score of 11.75 making him the first ever Siargao National Surfing Cup Juniors Division Champion.
“I’m happy to have made it to second place even if I didn’t win the championship,” a soft-spoken Lerog said. “I tried defending my position with my priority but he was able to get really good waves,” he adds.
The crowds were flocking to the boardwalk when Canon arrived, carried on the shoulders of older Siargao surfers. Still catching his breath and the fact that he won, Canon was thankful for the win.
“I’m just really happy to everybody, to PSCT for having the Juniors Division and especially to my sponsors who made it possible for me to be here.” he adds.
This is just the first leg of an action-filled last quarter of 2018 as the surf season picks up in the Philippines. Stay tuned in the next few weeks on the next leg of the PSCT! Drop by www.millennialmermaid.com for more stories!
