Pinoy wildcards Tokong, Alciso bow out after brave stand in WSL Pro

MANILA — Filipino wildcards John Mark “Marama” Tokong and Jayuard Alciso put up a brave fight in front of the home crowd before bowing out of contention in the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour Philippines Pro at Cloud 9 on Monday morning.

Tokong lost to Australian world No. 7 Ethan Ewing, while Alciso suffered a setback against familiar rival Kanoa Igarashi of Japan.

Fresh from a memorable win in his previous heat, the Siargao native known as the “King of Cloud 9” tried to keep his momentum going but found himself up against a tough opponent in Ewing. 

Tokong came away with 11.54 points, short of Ewing’s 14.50, as the Australian moved on to the next round of the event.

The defeat did not dent the experience for Tokong, who was thrilled to compete against one of his idols.

“I got my hand. I was so comfortable, like when I was starting against this guy. He’s one of my idols. And I can’t believe he’s kind of like a friend. He’s very nice, and he knows what he’s doing,” said Tokong.

For Tokong, the event was also an opportunity to see how far Siargao has come, with surfing helping put the island on the map and bringing in visitors from different parts of the world.

He hopes the close ties among residents and local businesses will remain as the island continues to attract tourists.

“There are so many people who know this place because of the waves, the island and especially the community here in Siargao. It’s so special, and this is why I love our island because the community is so good,” he said.

Alciso, meanwhile, came close to making a late charge against Igarashi but ran out of time to turn the heat around. The Asian Games bronze medalist managed just 4.17 points on his final wave as the 30-minute heat came to a close, leaving him short of Igarashi’s 12.90 total.

Igarashi built his winning score with a 6.67 on his third wave and a 6.23 on his fourth, enough to keep Alciso at bay and secure his place in the next round.

Asian Games gold medalist Igarashi, meanwhile, had nothing but praise for Alciso, whom he faced in last month’s Asian Games, describing the Filipino as a talented surfer.

“He’s such an amazing surfer. I was competing with him in the Asian Games last month and he’s such an amazing talent and he had such a good heat yesterday,” said Igarashi.

Surfers who fail to advance are assured of US$13,000 (around P830,000), while the eventual champion will pocket US$80,000 (approximately P5.1 million).