Cloud 9 local surfer wins the ASP QS 20th Annual Siargao International Surfing Cup

Edito “Piso” Alcala wins in 20^th Siargao International Surfing Cup over Carlito Nogalo in pumping Cloud 9 local-on-local barrel fest

28 September, Siargao Island – Philippines:  General Luna’s Edito “Piso” Alcala took the win over fellow Siargao Island local Carlito Nogalo in pumping 4-5 foot Cloud 9 perfection today at the end of the 30 minute final of the 20^th annual Siargao International Surfing Cup, coming back to the iconic wooden tower and be greeted by his many fans, $4,000 richer and proud winner of first-ever ASP Qualifying Series event in the Philippines, albeit with a broken surfboard after his final wave.

After scoring a perfect 10 point ride for a massive Cloud 7 barrel in his quarterfinal heat against 16 year old local ripper John Mark “Marama” Tokong on his way to an almost perfect heat score of 19 points (out of a possible 20), in arguably the most exciting heat of the entire event this morning, Piso went on to best young Aussie Chris Zaffis in his semifinal heat and then meet up with long time friend Carlito Nogala in the final.

Carlito Nogalo of Siargao Island

Piso’s two top scoring waves in the final were a 9.55 and a 9.90, two almost perfect scores for an almost perfect heat, 19.45 out of a possible 20 points!

“I’m very proud to win here today,” said Piso. “This win is for everyone, for me, my family, the locals, and the surfers from around the world who continue to visit. I’d like to thank the ASP and the ASC, and my sponsors Stoked Inc and Siargao Inn, and everyone who comes here to surf.” When asked how it felt to compete against his friend Carlito in the final, he replied, “We hang out, and we’re good friends.  And when the contest is on, that don’t affect us. Out there in the waves I still look out for him, and vice-versa. But in the end one of us will win, and today it was me.  I know he’s happy for me just like I would be happy for him if he was the winner.”

When asked the same question Carlito replied, “Piso and I have been friends for a long time and we’d also been competing with each other a long time. He’s very lucky that he was able to get some really good waves out there today. As for me, I got a few waves but it wasn’t enough to win this time. But there will next year. I train the whole year round so I’ll definitely be ready for another try next year.”

Edito "Piso" Alcala and Carlito Nogalo hug each other after the competition.

The event took place over a 5-day period from September 24-28, where after the opening ceremony there were two lay days while waiting for the arrival of a predicted swell.  On the 26^th of September Round 1 was run in small but fun conditions, then on the 27^th the swell increased significantly allowing for the completion of Rounds 2 and 3 for the total of 48 competitors the majority coming from countries including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Indonesia. 

Today the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals were completed in the best waves of the entire event.  Later this evening there will be the awards presentation on the Boulevard in General Luna, which is always a highlight with speeches, music, dancing and lots of beverages being consumed.

Chris Zaffis of Australia

This was a historic event for not only the local community but for Philippine surfing as a whole, for with the support of the local and regional government and a year of being sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championships, the event was upgraded to a ASP 1 star World Qualifying Series event (dual sanctioned with the ASC) with a $15,000 prize purse.

Considered by many as the Godfather of Philippine surfing for is long and unwavering support of the Siargao International Cup, General Luna’s Mayor Jaime Rusillon is already looking ahead to next year and has promised it will be an even bigger ASP event next year. “Even though I myself cannot surf,” said the Mayor Rusillon, “I’ve been supporting this event for a lot of years now and trust me, we will make it even bigger and better next year!”

(L-R) Governor Sol F. Matugas of Surigao del Norte with
Former Mayor Cecilia Rusillon of General Luna, Siargao Island.

Governor Sol Matugas also attended the event today and after the finals had this to say: “I really enjoyed the competition. I’m excited because it’s been hands-on work for me. We’re all so proud for having produced champion surfers that are at par with foreign surfers.  Piso and Carlito are both from Siargao and they’d been surfing for many years, honing their skills. I hope this international event will continue in the next twenty years and more with the help of private organizations and with the local government support. Siargao is also the only province the Philippines that are hosting two international events; aside from surfing we also host the International Game Fishing tournament in Pilar. Hopefully we will discover other events we could stage here in Siargao to promote our island.” (by Tim Hain, ASC)

Since the written word is rarely enough to portray the epic nature of a day like today, so just check out this finals video clip by Indo Inc’s Sean Gihooley…Cloud 9 was on fire today for the boys!

Finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q_042dyY_A&feature=youtu.be Round 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfas6Oz6eJc Round 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m7DwFy50_A&feature=youtu.be Round 3:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaeA4qqXuUw&feature=youtu.be See all the results at http://www.aspworldtour.com/events/2014/mqs/1078/siargao-cloud-9-surfing-cup/results

The 2014 Siargao International Surfing Cup was a co-sanctioned 1-star ASP Men’s World Qualifying event and a ASC Grade 4 event that will ran from September 24-28, 2014 and boasted US$15,000 Prize Money.  

The 20^th Siargao International Surfing Cup was presented by the MVP Group of Companies and Manila Mining Corporation, with event organizers the Municipality of General Luna and Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte) and support by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), the Philippine Department of Tourism, Cloud 9 Boardriders Club and Fluid Surf.

The event is sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals and the Asian Surfing Championships with the assistance of the Philippine Surfing Federation.

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About the Asian Surfing Championships (ASC)

The Asian Surfing Championships was established in 2010 as the progression of the highly successful Indonesian Surfing Championships that began in Bali, Indonesia in 2004.  The mission of the ASC is to develop and progress the sport of surfing in Asia by assisting in the organizing and sanctioning of professional surfing events, which will help their growing surf communities and draw more attention to their areas for the progression of surfing locally, nationally, and throughout the Asian Region. 

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