Typhoon Lupit lighting up Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational
Jamie O’Brien : photo Jake White
Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational
Surfing Australia Cloud 9 Siargao Island Philipines 21 - 27 October 2009
Typhoon Lupit Continues To Deliver Day Two of Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational | Scroll down for video
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 22 October, 2009 : - - Typhoon Lupit continued to deliver the goods in the Philippines today, with big, perfect barrels on call for day two of the Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational. Cloud 9 provided the ideal forum for a world-class field of surfers with multiple 10 point rides going down in rising 2-2.5 metre (6-8ft) waves.
After rising to similar conditions to that of the opening day of completion, contest organisers decided to run rounds two and three, before completing the opening three heats of round four. Reigning champion Edito ‘Peso’ Alcala (Philippines) rose to the occasion netting a perfect 10 in his man-on-man round four heat against Australia’s Tai Graham.
Peso, who defeated 2007 event champion Wade Goodall (Caloundra, Qld, Aus) in last year’s final, used his local knowledge to get an edge over his international competitor, scoring a 10 and a 6.90 to defeat Graham’s 13.83 combined total. But it was the Jamie “O” show once more with the former pipeline master collecting his second perfect 10 for the event in his round four showdown against Australia’s Dru Adler (Palm Beach).
The freakish natural foot was in tune with the Cloud 9 line up from his opening wave collecting three near perfect rides (9.93, 9.70 and 10.0) to finish with a total of 19.93 (out of a possible 20) to oust Adler, who could only manage a 12.16 two-wave combined total.
Tai Graham : photo Jake White
Post heat, O’Brien said he was thrilled to bag another 10 point ride. “It looked so perfect in the beginning. I started pumping and was really deep, but the whole lip fell down and made this big foam ball. I came out a little off balance, but setup and got another barrel. It was so good.” O’Brien will now take on Peso in a highly-anticipated first quarterfinal.
New Zealand ace Jay Quinn (Gold Coast, formerly Gisborne) is also through to quarterfinal contention after disposing of fellow Gold Coaster Chris Bennetts (Main Beach, Qld, Aus). The talented surfer utilised superior tube riding skills en route to jagging a 9.23 and an 8.67 to best Bennetts – 17.90 to 12.87.
Quinn will take on the winner of Sam Page (Aus) vs Makua Rothman in quarterfinal two. Australian surfers feature heavily in round four, taking up 7 of the 16 spots. 12 heats remain until the 2009 Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational champion is crowned. Contest organisers will meet at 5.45 for a possible 6.00am start.
Remaining round four heats include – Ht4 Sam Page (Aus) vs Makua Rothman (Haw), Ht5 Shinpei Horiguchi (JPN) vs Carlito Nagolo (Phl), Ht6 Gavin Beschen (Haw) vs Dionisio Espejon (Phl), Ht 7 Joel Nantes (Aus) vs Agus Frimento (Phl), Ht8 Rodolfo Alcala (Phl) and Garrett Parkes (Aus).
Dale Richards : photo Jake White
Due to Siargao's proximity to the Philippine Deep, big swells from the Pacific Ocean roll in from the second deepest stretch of water in the world to create flawless, hollow barrelling waves. The 2009 tournament will run from October 21-27,2009.
The tournament contest site is Siargao Island’s 'Cloud 9', a powerful, hollow right-hander that has been frequently compared to the renowned surf of Hawaii and Indonesia.
The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational 2009 is proudly supported by Billabong, Province of Surigao Del Norte, Stoked Inc, Von Zipper sunglasses, Nixon, Kustom footwear, Friendster, and Sagana Resort.
If you see a good surfing wave, just shoot a free panorama or a 360 to share it with other surfers. It is easy and fun with pixeet and its fisheye lens.
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