Pinoy surfers make waves in Bali

Two Filipino surfers came up with a splashing performance in the first ever Indonesian Surfing Championships (ISC)-sanctioned charity surf competition in Indonesia billed as “Oakley Surf 4 Bali Kids” contest recently at the Canggu Beach in the picturesque island of Bali.

Dionisio Espejon and Bonifacio Figuron from Siargao Island, the country’s world-renowned surfing capital, made a good account of themselves in the six-star event and showed that the Pinoys can be at par with the best surfers around the globe.

Their benefactor Andrew McIntosh, an Australian national who is based in Cebu for seven years now, narrated that the first heat of Figuron was in clean three-feet right hand waves.

Figuron managed a total of four waves in the 20-minute heat, two of which link through to the inside shorebreak allowing him to wack, snap and carve his way into the next round in second position.

On that same day, Figuron was in the red jersey up against two highly-regarded Indonesians and an Australian professional. Figuron’s surf, however, was poor. He managed to get in a few respectable waves before being defeated by a small margin from second spot that resulted into his elimination.

Espejon, on the other hand, had to deal with conditions that had taken a turn for the worse with a howling onshore breeze and a drop in swell.  During his heat, only one set of three waves came of which he did not catch. Thus, he was knocked out in the first round by formidable opponents in tricky conditions.

Despite the poor conditions, both surfers were received warmly by the Indonesians. Numerous free surf sessions at famous breaks such as Uluwatu, Impossibles, Keramas, Dreamland and the beachies of Kuta were then held as part of the bond that has been created between the Balinese and Pinoy surfers.

“It’s a first for Philippine surfing to compete abroad and the two boys were doing great. They are clearly the best,” said McIntosh.

McIntosh said their Bali trip was through the invitation of ISC CEO Tipi Jabrik and was funded by the Philippine Surfing Federation (PSF) and former Congressman Prospero “Butch” Pichay as Espejon and Figuron’s reward for their outstanding performances in the PSF Tour in 2005 and 2006.

“The boys thank greatly the PSF and Congressman Pichay for their all-out support in promoting the sport of surfing within the Philippines,” said McIntosh, who is looking forward to the 2008 edition of the Bali tilt.