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Indonesia’s Hermawan wins 19th Siargao Int’l Surfing Cup

Tim Hain

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Putra Hermawan beats local barrel Ace Rodolfo 'Osot' Alcala

WINNER. Putra Hermawan at the 19th Annual Siargao International Surfing Cup. All photos by Tim Hain

SIARGAO ISLAND, Philippines – In a 30-minute man-on-man duel at the 19th Annual Siargao International Surfing Cup at Cloud 9 on Siargao Island Friday, September 27, Indonesia’s Putra Hermawan defeated Siargao’s local barrel ace Rodolfo “Osot” Alcala.

For winning the ASC-sanctioned Men’s Open Division, Hermawan will be bringing home the $5,000 cash prize and 3,000 valuable ASC championship points.

Alcala will receive $2,000 for his impressive performance during the competition and the honor of the runner-up title.

Hermawan hails from the tiny Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan (a few kilometers off the coast of Bali), and was the 2010 Indonesian Open and Pro Junior champion.

Both surfers struggled to find open waves in the final, with a swell direction that pinched off the end sections of the majority of the 4-5-foot-set waves. They kept pulling in deep and getting lots of travel time in the barrel to the delight of the crowd on the tower who were mostly cheering for their local favorite, Alcala.

Hermawan found the finals’ first open wave and got barreled not once but twice on the same wave to post the final’s highest single wave score, 8.15 out of a possible 10 points. 

He went on the add another shorter barrel ride that scored him 4.5 points to end with a final score of 12.65 points out of a possible 20.

STANDING ROOM ONLY. A huge crowd of surfing fans gathered at the beach to watch the finals

Alcala, on the other hand, pulled in deep on wave after wave but couldn’t find the exit, ending the final with mostly 1’s on his score sheet and a final points total of only 2.4.

WATCH: HIGHLIGHTS: Siargao Int’s Surfing Cup

“During the semifinal I got a couple really good waves by lining up with this house on the hill, and so during the final I tried to keep in that position so I’d have a chance at getting the best open waves.  It was a bit slow in the final, so I knew I just had to get a couple of good ones.  And lucky for me I did!” Hermawan said.

He didn’t expect to win. “No way! I thought it would be Dede because he was surfing so good, or maybe Osot because he knows the wave so well.”

DISAPPOINTED. Filipino Robert Alcala says he could have done a better job

Runner-up Alcala was a bit disappointed, citing a bit of nerves. “I knew all those people on the tower were hoping I would win, so I was a bit nervous because I really wanted to do good for both them and me, so I just took off as deep as I could to try and get the really long barrels, but I just didn’t get the open ones.”

He continued: “I had really good luck up until the finals, so I’m really happy about that.  To be in the finals against with all these pro surfers in the contest, I guess second is okay. I have won here before, but it’s been a few years, and last contest I only got to the quarterfinals, so I’m happy I got to the finals even if I didn’t win.”

READ: Locals post highest scores in Siargao Int’l Surfing Cup day 1

In the first semifinal of the day, Alcala took down Bali’s Mega Semadhi in the final seconds, needing a 3.7-point wave score to overtake Semadhi for the win and getting 4 points for small inside barrel with under a minute remaining. Final score was Alcala with 13.5 points and Semadhi with 13.15. 

FRIENDLy COMPETITION. Putra and Rodolfo pose for a photo

In the second semifinal, it was a high-scoring and very exciting affair with West Java’s Dede Suryana battling it out with Putra Hermawan.

Suryana jumped out into the lead and appeared to be well on the way to a heat win until Hermawan found two perfect waves, getting barreled twice on both of them, posting scores of first 8.25 and then 9.0 points to take the lead.  Suryana mounted a comeback by posting a 9.0 on his last wave, but it was just short of the 9.85 that he needed to take the win away from Hermawan.

READ: Seminfinalists decided in Siargao Int’l Surfing Cup day 2

After the Men’s Open final, the Women’s Division competitors got their chance to take on Cloud 9. The waves were sometimes a bit intimidating for the women, but the standouts were local sisters Nildie Blancada Rietenbach and Nilbe Blancada. 

Nildie on her back hand was charging deepest and taking on the biggest set waves, posting the sessions highest single wave score of 8.33 and the highest total heat score of 15.33 out of a possible 20.

On Friday Rina Kitazawa will take on Nilbie Blancada in Semifinal 1, and Nildie Rietenbach will be up against 5-time Indonesian Women’s Champion Yasnyiar “Bonne” Gea in the women’s semifinal 2.

The prize presentations are scheduled for Sunday evening in the town of General Luna.

For results and other information, check the official website and look up ASC Tour on Facebook.

The 19th Annual Siargao Surfing Cup is sponsored by the Philippine Department of Tourism, the Province of Surigao del Norte, the Municipality of General Luna, Cloud 9 Boardriders, Surf Angels, Reef Beach Houses, San Miguel Brewery Inc., Stoked Inc, Fluidsurf, Rip Curl, Siargao Bleu Resort, Nature Spring, Sagana Resort, The Boardwalk, Ocean 101, and DT General Merchandise, with media support by TV 5 and My Life On Board, organized by the Philippine Surfing Federation and sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championships. – Rappler.com

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