Tokong leads local fight in Siargao Surfing Cup

SIARGAO, Philippines — Philippine team stalwart John Mark Tokong and two other Filipino bets try to make the country proud as they compete in the 25th Siargao International Surfing Cup at Cloud 9  here today.

“No pressure,” said Tokong, a native of the town of General Luna, where Cloud 9 is located. “Besides, I’m not the only one left for the Philippines.”

Christian Araquil and Jay-r Esquivel try their luck in their respective heats in this annual tournament which drew the world’s leading surfers.

PJ Alipayo, Carlito Nogralo, Kent Brian Solloso and Neil Sanchez all failed to advance.

The 23-year-old Tokong, who will see action in the Southeast Asian Games surfing competitions in La Union in December, needs to finish in the Top 2 of his heat to gain passage to the next round in this event presented by Globe Telecom and Sprite and fully supported by Siargao Rep. Bingo Matugas, Surigao del Norte Gov. Francisco “Lalo”Matugas, Department of Tourism and the Philippine Sports Commission.

  The Siargao International Surfing Organizing Committee (SISOC) is composed of the offices of Gov. Matugas, Rep. Matugas and Mayor Yayang Rusillon of General Luna. The event is part of the effort of the host to promote  sustainable tourism and highlight Siargao as one of the best surfing destinations in the world.

Ernest Cu, Globe president and CEO, sees Siargao as having a lot of potential to become one of the major tourist destinations in Southeast Asia, thus the decision to help the growth of Siargao through digitalization and sustainability efforts.

While saying that Pinoy surfers are capable of winning an Olympic medal,  Rep. Matugas thanked Globe for its valuable support. “Considering that this year is the 25th anniversary of the Siargao Cloud 9 Surfing Cup, we would like to make the event more grand and memorable. We recognize that we cannot do it alone. Globe’s valuable support will surely ensure the competition’s success,” he said.

The event is sanctioned QS 1500 by the World Surf League Asia.