28 September, Siargao Island – Philippines:  General Luna’s Edito “Piso” Alcala beat fellow Siargao Island local Carlito Nogalo in pumping 4-5 foot Cloud 9 perfection today at the 20th annual Siargao International Surfing Cup. Piso came back to the iconic wooden tower to be greeted by his many fans, $4,000 richer and the proud winner of the first-ever ASP Qualifying Series event in the Philippines, albeit with a broken surfboard after his final wave.

Piso’s two top scoring waves in the final were a 9.55 and a 9.90, two almost perfect scores for an almost perfect heat, 19.45 out of a possible 20 points!

“I’m very proud to win here today,” said Piso. “This win is for everyone, for me, my family, the locals, and the surfers from around the world who continue to visit. I’d like to thank the ASP and the ASC, and my sponsors Stoked Inc and Siargao Inn, and everyone who comes here to surf.” 

When asked how it felt to compete against his friend Carlito in the final, he replied, “We hang out, and we’re good friends.  And when the contest is on, that doesn’t affect us. Out there in the waves I still look out for him, and vice versa. But in the end one of us will win, and today it was me. I know he’s happy for me just like I would be happy for him if he was the winner.”

This was a historic event for the local community and for Philippine surfing as a whole, for with the support of the local and regional government and a year of being sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championships, the event was upgraded to a ASP 1 star World Qualifying Series event (dual sanctioned with the ASC) with a $15,000 prize purse.