Remar Magaluna conquered the waves of Baler as he ruled the Men’s Shortboard finals of the Pilipinas Surfing National Leg 2 here in Baler, Aurora.
Despite the threat of bad weather, Magaluna remained cool, calm and collected as he tallied a total of 10.35 heat score in a tightly contested Bay’s Inn Surfing Challenge finals against La Union’s Jay-R Esquivel.
“’Yung alon nu’ng finals namin maganda. Alam ko magaling si Jay-R, pero nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng sumusuporta sa akin at nanalo tayo,” said Magaluna.
The pride of Siargao managed to break away in the last few minutes with a consistent showing against the strong start of Esquivel.
In the Men’s Longboard finals, June Esquivel capped his impressive first rodeo in Baler with a title after tallying 13.50 points over Jomarie Ebueza’s 8.60 markers.
“First time ko dito sa Baler, medyo nanibago ako sa alon kumpara sa amin (La Union),” said Esquivel. “Dito kasi beach break, du’n sa amin point break kaya iba ang adjustments sa pag-ride.”
The younger Esquivel also competed in the Junior Boys Shortboard Division, where he ended up as the 1st runner-up to eventual champion, Jayuard Alciso of Siargao.
In the Women’s division, Nilbie Blancada of Siargao bagged the Open Shortboard crown, while another Siargao surfer, Aping Agudo successfully made her return to the professional scene and topped the Open Longboard category.
Baler’s very own little star, Cathleya Isidra Casals shone the brightest and was hailed as the champion of the Junior Girls’ Shortboard.
The champions of each division will receive P30,000 cash prize and 500 points for their national standings.
The Bay’s Inn Surfing Challenge is officially sanctioned by United Philippine Surfing Association, in partnership with Bay’s Inn Resort, together with Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee.