2 May
2012, Siargao Island - Philippines: Local knowledge proved key to a semifinals berth
on Day Two of the Roxy Siargao International Women’s Cup at Cloud 9, with
Siargao locals Nilbie Blancada and Manette Alcala both besting a mixed field of
international competitors in Round 3 and then winning their Quarterfinal
women-on-women heats.
The
Quarterfinals today were bookended by very tightly contested heats, with Nilbie
Blancada and Daisy Valdez from La Union (Northern Philippines) getting the
crowd on their feet and cheering as both girls traded barrels and attacked the
solid 3-4 foot waves in an all-out battle for the win in Quarterfinal 1. With only a minutes to go and Nilbie in
the lead, Daisy needed a bomb and a big score to advance, but all that was on
offer was a small inside wave, which she took and made the most of with a mini
barrel and a couple hacks but it just wasn’t enough.
“I
tried my best out there,” said the diminutive Daisy who is less than 5 feet
tall. “But I just couldn’t get a
long enough barrel for a big score.”
Nilbie
was all smiles and very excited to be advancing into the semifinals, but too
shy to say anything other than, “I’m so happy!”
In
Quarterfinal 2 it was Australia’s Philippa Anderson getting the better of
Nilbie’s sister Neldie Blancada-Reitenbach, who had her share of waves but
couldn’t find the big score that would get her ahead of the Australian Number
Two ranked Women’s Pro Junior.
Quarterfinal
3 saw Australian past-professional World Tour surfer Kim Wooldridge make easy
work of her local opponent Nemia, who seemed very stoked at just having made it
to the quarterfinals, the farthest she has ever gotten in a surf competition.
The
day’s competitive surfing ended with local 28 year old Manette Alcala winning
over Roxy Marketing Executive Holly Monkman from Australia. Manette was super excited with her win,
saying, “I never though I would win that heat, especially against Holly because
I saw her surf before and she is really good. I just tried to find the best waves and surf as good as I
could, and at the end of the heat I still didn’t know that I’d won. I’m so happy I’m into the
semifinals!” Turns out she will be
matched up against her friend Kim Woolridge, which she has competed against
before. “It’s great I get to surf against Kim again…I think it’s the 3rd or 4th time I have
surfed against her and we always have fun. But hopefully this time I can beat
her and get into the final!”
With
the quarterfinals completed Contest Director Gerry Degan held a brief
consultation with the remaining competitors and the event organizers to decide
of the contest should continue, and it was decided that with the strengthening
wind and two more days left in the waiting period it was best to stop for the
day and wait for tomorrow morning to assess the conditions. So with that it was announced that the
contest would stop for the day and surfers and crew should be ready to go at 11
am tomorrow.
Semifinal 1: Nilbie Blancada vs Philippa Anderson
Semifinal 2: Kim Wooldridge vs Manette Alcala
Tomorrow
may see the conclusion of the event and the winner going home with a big fat
winners check of $2,500, as the waves are predicted to be much the same as
today with glassy conditions and 3-4 foot epic surf!
This
historic event has the distinction of being both the first-ever Asian Surfing
Championship event to be held in the Philippines and the first to receive the
top Ultima rating for its PHP 300,000 (approximately $7,000 USD) prize purse in
Women’s Division competition.
The
Roxy Siargao International Women’s Surfing Cup is supported by the Philippine
Department of Tourism, the House of Representatives, the Province of Surigao
Del Norte, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority and the
Municipality of General Luna, organized by the Philippine Surfing Federation,
and with sponsorship from the Primer Group of Companies, Rockstar Energy Drink
the San Miguel Corporation, and media support by Thirty Six-O Media.
For
more information please contact:
Philippine Surfing
Federation
Zeny
Pallugna – Secretary General
Phone:
+639296721508
Email:
zenpallugna@yahoo.com.ph
or
Asian Surfing Championships
Michaela
Partin – Tour Manager
Phone:
+6281805584486
Email:
marketing@isctour.com
####
About Roxy:
Roxy is a brand of Quiksilver, Inc
(NYSE:ZQK), the world’s leading outdoor sports lifestyle company, which designs,
produces and distributes a diversified mix of branded apparel, winter sports
equipment, footwear, accessories and related products. The Company’s apparel
and footwear brands represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that
connect with its board riding culture and heritage. See more at www.roxy.com
About the ASC
The Asian Surfing
Championships began in 2011 with the mission of growing the sport of surfing in
South East Asia from the grassroots level by assisting each country in
organizing professional surfing events that will develop the skills of their
surfers in healthy competition as well as to draw attention to their area for
the progression of surfing locally, nationally, and throughout the SEA area.
Organized surfing
competitions have historically been the best medium for the development of
surfers and for the sport of surfing, where learning how to compete fairly and
to being disciplined in training and competition are key skills needed not only
for surfing but also for life.
The ASC works
with the local, national and multinational event sponsors and organizers to
maximize the results of these competitive surfing events towards accomplishing
the goals of sharing the sport of surfing and bringing positive economic,
social, and environmental benefits to the people in these South East Asian
countries. See more at http://www.asiansurfingtour.
About the
Primer Group of Companies
The Primer
Group of Companies is a consortium mainly engaged in the retail and
distribution of the world’s top consumer brands and products. We are also proud
to have expanded our business portfolio in the area of industrial products and
services through the production and distribution of chemical printing products,
retail and maintenance of ACMV and HVAC units with after-sales services and
creative graphic design and services. Most recently, the company also opened
its first professional retail and merchandising academy.
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