LOCAL DUO John-Mark “Marama” Tokong and Nilbie Blancada have claimed victory at the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1000 for the 2022 Siargao International Surfing Cup presented by San Miguel.
Defying four-to-six foot surf at their home break of Cloud 9, Blancada earned the biggest finish of her career, while Tokong took his third QS win in familiar territory.
“I’m so proud to take this win along with Nilbie (Blancada) not just for Siargao but for all of the Philippines,” Tokong said.
Talking to Spin.ph, Marama added, “Sa akin talaga, I’m super happy right now na nanalo ako in this event. For me, I had no expectations. I was just going to go step by step, win every heat.”
Marama, Nilbie WSL QS 1000 recap
Tokong met Indonesia’s Oney Anwar at the Finals, each posting solid heat totals as they went wave for wave. But Tokong found deeper, longer tubes to post a near excellent 15.80 two-wave combination (out of a possible 20).
“It was great to share a final with Oney – he is like a brother to me,” Tokong continued. “I'm just so stoked we got incredible waves on Finals Day for all of the competitors and that things are coming back to normal here in Siargao.”
Blancada also proved that local knowledge means everything at Cloud 9. All throughout the week, her finesse and style in the tube, along with her knowledge of which waves to take off on, had her consistently posting the highest totals of each round.
At the finals, she overcame Japanese Challenger Series hopeful Anon Matsuoka, and notched a historic win, as it was the first time the men’s and women’s event ran as one and the first time a Filipino woman has won a WSL rated event.
“I’m really, really happy,” Blancada told Spin.ph. “We’re hungry to compete again. After ng pandemic, yung nangyari dito sa Siargao, happy kami na nakabalik na ang Cloud 9 as a champion.”
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