THERE’S definitely more to capoeira and samba that Brazilians excel in, as surfing star Raoni Monteiro scored a major surprise to rule the recent Siargao International Surfing Cup, the country’s biggest surfing event, held at Cloud 9 in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte.
Sidelined by knee injuries in 2014, the former Championship Tour contender returned to competitive surfing this year on his way back to the elite level.
Monteiro edged a field of 112 wave riders from 21 countries and romped away with a $12,000 cash prize and 3,000 ranking points.
Conquering exciting waves throughout the competition, he nipped Costa Rica’s Tomas King who settled for second place in the tightly contested showdown.
“I can’t even explain how happy I am,” Monteiro said. “Right at the end when I saw that wave came, I knew it as the one and I knew I could do it. This has been a really amazing event for me. It is my first time here in the Philippines and the waves have been so good. We had all been really spoiled with the waves we got and everyone was ripping so I feel really luck to come out on top.”
In addition to the exhilarating waves of Cloud 9, the comeback star basked in Siargao’s powdery sand, mouth-watering cuisine, evening parties and the warm hospitality of the locals, especially children, who treated him like a rock star and a native sports hero.
Monteiro looks forward to defend his crown next year and spend more time in the country to explore its natural wonders, make new friends and discover the common Latin cultural heritage among Brazilians and Filipinos. Meanwhile, Portugal’s Nic Von Rupp and Peru’s Lucca Masinas Novaro shared third honors and a $4,000 prize each.
This year’s edition of the tournament was declared by the prestigious World Surf League as a Qualifying Series 3000 event and had the biggest number of participants and biggest pot ever worth $75,000.
Rounding up the winning circle in fifth place and $2,000 prize each are Australia’s Mitchell Parkinson, Hawaii’s Kiron Jabuor, Peru’s Cristobal de Col and Siargao’s very own Piso Alcala, who had won top awards in previous editions of the cup.
Homegrown talent John Mark Tokong is the only other Filipino who broke through in the winning column at 13th place tied with Australia’s Blake Thornton.
Sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championships (ASC), the Siargao Cup has been given a six-star surfing ranking in 2014, making it a qualifying stop for the Asian Circuit. It has also received the rating of ASP-World Qualifying Series 1 Star and ASC Grade 6—ASC tour’s highest rating.
The Siargao International Surfing Cup was presented by the Department of Tourism in partnership with the municipality of General Luna, the province of Surigao del Norte and the House of Representatives, among others.
Image credits: Tom Bennett /WSL