Pinoys lead march to Siargao surfing q’finals

Four of seven Filipino quarterfinalists.

Seven Filipinos advanced to the quarterfinals of the 25th Siargao International Surfing being held at the famous Cloud 9 surfing club in the Surigao del Norte island.

John Mark Tokong, Kent Brian Solloso and Carlito Nogralo topped their heats to spearhead the Philippine bid in the tournament sanctioned by the World Surf League and participated in by 20 countries.

“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 Surigao del Norte Rep. Lalo Matugas.

Also advancing to the next round were local bets PJ Alipayo, Christian Araquil, Neil Sanchez and Jay-R Esquivel, who all finished second in theirheats.

The weeklong event formally opened Saturday afternoon. It is being held in memory of General Luna Mayor Jaime Rusillon, credited for opening Siargao to the surfing world.

Siargao became famous when Rusillon hosted the first international surfing tournament in 1994.

Owing to its worldwide appeal, the event is being broadcast live by the worldsurfingleague.com.

Wilmar Melindo, a Siargao native who judges in international competitions, said Filipino surfers are comparable to the world’s best.

“We only need to have more international exposure,’’ said Melindo, first cousin of former world boxing champion Milan Melindo.

The other favorites who also advanced were defending champion Skip Mc Cullough of the United States; Australians Duke Nagtzaam, Dylan Moffat, Thomads Cervi and Harley Ross; Japan’s Kenta Ishikawa and Jin Suzuki; Daniel Farr and Elliot Reed of New Zealand; Pablo Montero of Spain; Argentina’s Santiago Muniz; Hawaii’s Noash Beschen and Israel Barona of Ecuador.