Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte—Seven Filipino surfers showed their world-class worth in the face of tremendous opposition as they entered the quarterfinals of the 25th Siargao International Surfing crowd, which a drew huge crowd at the famous Cloud 9 surfing club here.
John Mark Tokong, Kent Brian Solloso and Carlito Nogralo won both their heats to spearhead the Philippines’ bid to make its mark in this tournament, sanctioned by the World Surf League.
Top surfers from 20 countries are competing in the event primarily organized by Siargao Representative Bingo Matugas and supported by Surigao del Norte Governor Francisco “Lalo’’ Matugas.
“The event will give our local surfers much-needed exposure and will help them earn points to qualify for the Olympics. Surging is a sport in which our locals can excel. With proper training and funding, our surfers can help us clinch an Olympic medal,’’said Representative Matugas. “Considering that this is the 25th anniversary of the event, we would like to make the event grand and memorable and Globe’s valuable support will surely ensure the competition’s success.’’
Also advancing to the next round of the event presented by Globe Telecom and Sprite were local bets PJ Alipayo, Christian Araquil, and Neil Sanchez and Jay R Esquivel , who finished second in their respective heats.
World Surf League Asia General Manager Steve Robertson and operations manager Gerry Degan described the organization of the event as a fantastic and stressed that the event is the biggest international surfing event in the country. Robertson praised the perfect condition of the wave as he described Siargao as having the most perfect waves in the world.
“The level of competition is extremely high,’’ said the 35-year-old Robertson, who as a growing boy in Australia already heard about the charm and beauty of Siargao.
The week-long event, actually, had its formal opening Saturday afternoon with the organizers and sponsors, including Representative Matugas, Gov, Matugas,top officials of the local government units, medical teams, law enforcers and Coca Cola Philippines Public and Corporate Affairs Director lawyer Juan Lorenzo Tanada in attendance. The Philippine Sports Commission headed by Chairman Butch Ramirez fully supported the event. Ramirez was represented by PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez in the formal opening ceremony. Also in attendance were Chinese Embassy officials based in Davao City.
The event is also being held in memory of General Luna Mayor Jaime Rusillon, who is credited for opening Siargao to the surfing world.Siargao started to become famous as one of the top surfing capitals in the world when Rusillon hosted the 1994 international surfing tournament.
Owing to its worldwide appeal, the event is being broadcast live by the worldsurfingleague.com.