SURF CITY, El Salvador — In a historic win, the Philippine National Longboard team finished fourth at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Longboard Championship in El Salvador.
It was the team's first appearance in the global competition. At 2020 points overall, the Philippines only trailed behind world surfing powerhouses France (3400 points), Brazil (2756 points), and Peru (2395 points).
Rogelio "Jay-R" Esquivel Jr. garnered the best individual finish in the team's impressive world longboarding debut. The La Union native reached the finals for fourth place at 12.57 points, facing off against Carlos Bahia of Brazil and the Delpero brothers from France.
"We are so stoked to come here and represent our country,” said Esquivel. “We have been dreaming about this and we are happy now that we are here. This will really improve surfing in the Philippines, especially for us who compete here against the big names.”
Fellow La Union surfer Jomarie Ebueza fell to the repechage rounds from round 2. In the women's division, Aping Agudo of Siargao fought valiantly to round 4 in the main draw and round 6 of repechage, while Daisy Valdez of La Union reached repechage round 5.
Their impressive showing secured their spot in the ANOC World Beach Games later this year.
Team Philippines stuns in their debut in the ISA World Longboard Championship
Despite facing early challenges such as jetlag and adjusting to a new environment, the team exceeded their own expectations and put the Philippines on the world map for longboard surfing.
"The first challenge was our body clock," explained Coach Ian Saguan. "We had jetlag int he first two days, [and suffered from] lack of sleep. At the same time, we ha[d] to move early for trainings before the lineup gets crowded."
As the competition drew to a close, the Philippine National Longboard team proved to be a force to be reckoned with.
With their success at the ISA World Longboard Championship, the Philippine National Longboard team has set their sights on the ANOC World Beach Games, which will be held in Bali beginning August 5.
The multisport competition will feature competions in aquathlon, beach handball, beach soccer, beach tennis, beach volleyball 4×4, beach water polo, beach wrestling, individual kata, open water swimming 5km, 3x3 basketball, airbadminton, surfing, beach sprint rowing, and wingfoil racing.
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