LA UNION surfer Jay-R Esquivel is on to the round of 16 as he pulled off a clutch victory on the first day of the Longboard Classic at the Wallex US Open of Surfing.
It was an auspicious start for the first Filipino to debut in the World Longboard Tour. Cutting through the southern California swell with a hang 5 to hang 5 combination and a smooth cutback finish on the inside section, Esquivel earned a total of 7.67 points — the highest tally on the Huntington Beach boards.
Esquivel ended up finishing his heat with a 14.4 total, handily beating Kevin Skvarna (12.44) and Tony Silvagni (10.67), both from the USA.
Fellow Filipino John Mark “Marama” Tokong, however, failed to move up to the second round of the World Surfing League Challenger Series in the same venue, scoring 7.37 points and third place in a stiff heat bannered by Brazil’s Rafael Teixeira, with a 12.77 total.
Jay-R Esquivel continues hot surfing streak
Esquivel has been training in Huntington Beach for the past three weeks, acclimatizing himself to the surf and practicing for his debut.
Filipinos across California turned up at the southern California venue to support both Esquivel and Tokong, longtime veterans of the Philippine surf scene.
It’s been a standout year for Esquivel. Prior to his US Open of Surfing debut, he also emerged victorious at the Padrol Longboard Classic at the World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia last June 5, and finished fourth in the International Surfing Association World Longboard Championships in El Salvador a month prior.
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