In the exciting final of the Open Division of the Reef Bali Pro 2010 at Kuta Beach this morning, Raditya “The Bull” Rondi claimed victory over last year’s Coca-Cola ISC Champion Lee Wilson by launching an aggressive attack on the peeling 3 foot waves and jumping to an early lead to put Wilson on the ropes.
Wilson put up a valiant effort, searching the lineup for the perfect wave with which to score a comeback, but Rondi kept upping the ante with each successive wave leaving Wilson needing a score of 8.2 to take the win. His final wave only scored a 2.5, and then time ran out. Rondi’s best two waves scored a 7.0 and a 7.6 for a two-wave total of 14.6, whereas Wilson’s best were a 5.0 and a 6.5 for an 11.5.
Back on the beach Wilson was philosophical saying, “I would have loved to win this event and I was surfing good enough win, but I couldn’t seem to get the waves. Raditya was really charging and got some great waves so he deserved to win, and at the end of the day second place still gets me some good points so I’m ok with that.”
Rondi, whose Balinese nickname is “Cabul” usually abbreviated to “Bul”, was grinning non-stop after his win, and when asked what the win meant to him replied, “I have grown up surfing this place with my hero’s like Lee and Pepen, so to be in a final and get a win over a great surfer like Lee is a dream come true.” And when further questioned on what was the key to his win, he modestly answered, “I think its because I’m smaller and lighter, so in these small waves I can take more chances on my maneuvers.”
For his win today Rondi brings home a winners check for Rp 12,500,000 and 3,000 championship points.
It was a great morning of surfing at Halfways, starting with the quarterfinal action of the Open Division at 7:30 am. First up was Rondi taking down Mega Semahdi in a close contest, followed by Putra Hermawan getting the better of Marlon Gerber. A busy Pepen Hendrik was dominant against Komang “Gogo” Sujaya in quarterfinal three, and Wilson had virtually a walk-thru against Wayan “Betet” Merta in quarterfinal four, who was apparently still asleep 5 minutes before the heat. Merta attempted to surf without a leg rope and promptly lost his board on his first wave, and never got much going for the remainder of the heat.
Semifinal one was a one sided affair with Putra Hermawan seeming to have positioning problems, opening the door to the charging “Bull” who had no such troubles, which resulted in a easy ticket into the final.
Wilson and Hendrik put on a great show for the fans in semifinal two, with both aggressively attacking the tricky lineup and putting up big scores. It was the last wave the sealed the heat win for Wilson, a long lefthander that he racked up over a dozen turns on and ended in ankle high water, setting him up for the grand final with Rondi.
In the Women’s Division final, last years Coca-Cola ISC Women’s Champion Yasnyiar “Bonne” Gea jumped to an early lead and looked to have the win well in hand, but the steady attack of young Febri (Rohaye) Ningsih knocked her into second place by the time the horn blew. Dyah Dewi made a last minute charge getting this highest wave score of the final, a 7.0, but she had nothing else in the bank and had to settle for third spot. Jasmine took her chances on the outside waiting for the bigger sets, but only managed two low scoring waves to end in fourth.
The Masters was taken out by Made Lapur from Uluwatu, who was stoked and even a bit surprised at having won the final. On the podium he said, “To win this event here at Kuta Beach is really a bit surprising. The last event I won was at a reef break, and usually I don’t do so well at beach breaks with small waves. So this win is very special to me and one I won’t soon forget!”
After the awards presentation on the beach immediately after the Open final, Reef’s Wiwin Hutson was smiling and delighted with how the event had finished up, saying “Its been a few years since out last event so I was a bit nervous about how it would all go off, especially since we had the Reef International guys here, the Miss Reef competition, and all the entertainment. It’s been lots of work but lots of fun too, and everybody has worked together really well. We had great waves to work with each day, and the surfers were putting on great performances. The international guys were commenting on how our ISC surfers really rip, and that makes me even more proud to have been a part of putting this event on.”
And next year? “We will be doing this again for sure,” answered Hutson. “We really want to keep supporting our Indonesian surfers so that they can continue on their mission to become top professional surfers. I hope one day we can have an Indonesian as a world champion, that would be so great,” she added.”
Reef Bali Pro 2010 Contest Results:
Open Division
1. Made Raditya Rondi
2. Lee Wilson
3. Pepen Hendrik and Putra Hermawan (Equal Third Place)
Masters Division
1. Made Lapur
2. Ketut Wirtawan
3. Nyoman Wastika
4. Ketut Menda
Womens Division
1. Febri (Rohaye) Rahman Ningsih
2. Yasnyiar (Bonne) Gea
3. Dyah Rahayu Dewi
4. Jasmine
Coca-Cola Best Wave Award – Ende Supriatna for his 9.5 (out of a possible 10) point barrel ride on Day 3 of competition. He receives Rp 1,000,000.
Photos and text: Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour
1. Reef Bali Pro 2010 Open Division Winner Raditya Rondi Surfing to Victory
2. Reef Bali Pro 2010 Open Division Podium L to R – 2nd Lee Wilson, 1st Raditya Rondi, 3rd Pepen Hendrik, and Equal 3rd Putra Hermawan
3. Reef Bali Pro 2010 Masters Division Podium L to R – 2nd Ketut Wirtawan, 1st Made Lapur, 3rd Nyoman Wastika, 4th Ketut Menda
4. Reef Bali Pro 2010 Womens Division Podium L to R – 2nd Yasnyiar Gea, 1st Febri Rahman Ningsih, 3rd Dyah Rahayu Dewi, 4th Jasmine
5. Coca-Cola Best Wave Award –Ende Supriatna
6. Halfway Kuta Beach, Reef Bali Pro 2010 Finals Day
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