“Masaya ako kasi nakakuha ako ng alon na maganda. Salamat sa Panginoon, binigay Niya sakin yung alon na yun.” (I’m happy because I got a good wave. I thank God for giving me that wave.), said Juramz Ariate.
Miguel Paez, as the only representative from Cagayan De Oro City, put on an impressive performance, given that the nearest surf spot from CDO is 3 hours drive away. Paez, who only needs a 1.1 score to advance, was lucky enough to catch a wave in the dying seconds and completed a powerful snap before the buzzer, snatching the second place spot from Elven Antipasado.
“Akala ko talo na ‘ko. Mabuti na lang may nakita akong alon na pakaliwa. Sabi ko ‘Eto na, baka sakali makuha ko and makapasok pa ko sa Round 2.’ Salamat sa Diyos! Salamat din sainyo sa PSCT at saka sa lahat ng nag sponsor sakin. Ang sarap ng feeling!” (I thought I was losing the heat. Good thing I saw a lefthander coming. I told my self, ‘This is it. Maybe I can get this wave and can move to Round 2.’ Thank you God! Thanks also to PSCT and to all those who sponsored me to join this contest. It feels so good!), says Paez.
The remaining 12 heats of Round 1 will be run this morning and move on to Round 2 this afternoon. “We’re racing the clock in these early rounds, so we hope that the wave conditions allow us to finish the heats we have planned for today,” said PSCT President Luke Landrigan. “Our goal is to elevate the standards of Philippine surfing so that’s why we invested in computerised scoring equipment to help us generate scores faster and allow the surfers to know where they are at in the heat. It takes some time to get everybody used to a new system, but that’s what we need to do to prepare them for getting up the next level,” Landrigan added.
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With a swell forecast of 1 to 2 feet for the second day, PSCT officials will commence with the remaining heats of Round 1 at 6:00 am.
The 19th Siargao National Surfing Cup, a PSCT Grade 2 Sanctioned event is brought to you by the following sponsors and media partners: The Municipality of General Luna, Province of Surigao Del Norte, Department of Tourism, SkyJet Air (Official Airline Partner), Solar Sports (Official TV Partner), Reef, Oakley, Kermit Surf Resort, Gwapitos, Fluidsurf, BackBurn, Greenhouse, Kudo Surf, INQUIRER.NET, INbqPop, The Manila Bulletin, Edge Davao, Going Places Magazine, Blunt Magazine and My Life on Board.
About the Philippine Surfing Championship Tour
The Philippine Surfing Championship Tour (PSCT) is the country’s first-ever and only professional surfing tournament. Patterned after the Word Surf League, surfers from all over the Philippines tour around different surf spots to battle for the top spot in the national rankings.
PSCT’s vision is to be the venue for professional surfing in the Philippines that follows International Surfing Association (ISA) standards of competition, preparing Filipino athletes for the international stage while promoting camaraderie and unity of the surfing community.
Visit www.psctour.com for more info.
Like PSCT on Facebook, facebook.com/philippinesurfingchampionshiptour/
Follow us on Instagram, instagram.com/official.psct/
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