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PILI,
Camarines Sur—Hometown bet Ricky Otilla bested five
other wakeboarders, including defending champion Arthur
King, Saturday to rule the men’s professional division
of the third Philippine Cable Wakeboard Nationals at the
Camsur Watersports Complex.
The
21-year-old Otilla banked on an array of difficult
tricks, including a spinning 720-degree, blind judge
180-degree and a half crab to score an impressive 84.67
in the final round, to take home the P12,000 top prize.
He beat
King, the champion since the event’s inception, who
could only finish third with 68.67.
Otilla
actually struggled in the preliminaries but managed to
enter the six-man final round Friday after a 39.67 in
the preliminaries—the second lowest among the six
finalists.
Dan
Saraza took the P8,000 second-place prize money after
scoring 84.67 in the final round. King settled for
P5,000.
The
other titleholders from last year made it back to back.
Jeena
Lopez continued her supremacy by capturing the open
women’s division title.
The
37-year-old Lopez’s side spin highlighted a clean final
round to score an 86.00 for the P8,000 top prize. Joyce
Recto finished second with a 65.67 for the P4,000 prize
followed by Andrea Sevilla with a 62.67 for P3,000.
Januson
Dy underscored his men’s masters title with a final
round 98.03, beating Espiritu Nono (77.00) and Leandro
Sto. Domingo (69.67) by a mile.
Julio
Villafuerte and Luigi Villafuerte, sons of Camarines Sur
Gov. LRay Villafuerte, won the junior men’s and groms
event, while Philip Jay Nacario bagged the men’s title.
Carlo de
la Torre prevailed in the open wakeskate division,
Ernesto Lopez in the veterans, Ma. Josefa Feliza Ermita
in the junior women’s and Kathleen Reyes in the girls.
The
who’s who in the world of wakeboarding, meanwhile, are
impressed with the swift development of the sport in the
Philippines.
Shawn
Perry, World Wakeboarding Association executive
director, said the presence of the world-class Camsur
Watersports Complex (CWC) has helped the growth of the
sport in the country.
“CWC has
obviously fostered the growth of sport here in the
Philippines. The sport has grown here since I’ve been
here. And with the facility, the riders here have a
chance to ride everyday,” said Perry, who was the chief
judge of the third Philippine Cable Wakeboard Nationals.
Perry
said a lot of the influence of the sport in the country
came after Villafuerte embraced the sport.
“He
brought wakeboarders from around the world, and I think
that’s huge. The fact that the Filipino riders can see
different styles and tricks from riders all over the
world, it’s amazing,” Perry added.
Cupic
Vukasin, a Serbian two-time International champion and
also a judge in the Cable Wakeboard Nationals, said
Filipino wakeboarders are fast learners.
“Filipino wakeboarders, it’s amazing, they are picking
up fast and learning faster than I do and maybe other
Europeans or Americans,” said Vukasin.
Philippine wakeboarding have been making such good vibes
in the world federation that they decided to give CWC
the hosting of the WWA World Wakeboarding Championships
slated in July.
But as
far as the Filipinos chances of winning a world title
this year in local soil is concern, Perry said that it
is still a long shot.
“The
sport is still young here as compared the others who
have been competing for years. But I believe it is going
to happen (a Filipino world champion) eventually,” said
Perry.
Vukasin
noted the improvement of newly-crowned national champion
Ricky Otilla, a 21-year-old CWC cable operator trained
by Reuben Buchanan, an Australian who helps run the
facility.
“For one
year, he is making a good progression. From what I saw
last year from this year, I can’t believe the tricks
that he is doing now,” said Vukasin.
Also in
Vukasin’s list of fine Filipino wakeboarders are
two-time national champion Arthur King and Dan Saraza. |
