21 August 2009, Canggu-Bali : Mustofa Jeksen from Kuta Beach won his first ever Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Champion Tour contest today at the 6-Star Oakley Pro 2009 in Canggu Beach. Surfing against fellow Kuta Beach local Dedy Santoso in a 25 minute final, Jeksen aggressively exercised his proficient backside attack to post consistently bigger scores as the heat progressed, finally leaving Santoso needing a 9 point score to overtake him for the win.
Santoso on his forehand gave Jeksen an admirable battle in the solid 5 foot surf, his smooth style with big turns and aerials put to good use, but he just failed find the wave that would allow him to post that one big score he needed.
"This was my second, second place finish of the year so far, so I'm not disappointed. Mus surfed great today and I'm happy that he got a win. But next time I want to get that first place trophy," said the polite and soft-spoken Santoso with a smile.
Jeksen on the other hand was over the moon. "I'm so happy to finally get a win…I've dreamed about this and still feel like I'm in a dream now, it just doesn't seem real yet. I'm so happy, I can't believe it", he said excitedly back on the beach after getting doused by several ice cold San Miguel beers by his friends.
Jeksen has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best up-and-coming young surfers in Bali at 20 years of age, having a great repertoire of radical maneuvers, but just hasn't seen much podium time on the ISC tour circuit yet. So this is a big step forward for the young man, and he is enjoying it with gusto.
Placing equal third today were Garut Widiarta and Devis Ratif, both also from Kuta. Ratif narrowly escaped elimination yesterday; just nabbing the score he needed in the final seconds of his Round 4 heat. In today's quarterfinal he downed Rahtu Suargita, but couldn't get past the charging Dedy Santoso in Semifinal 2.
Widiarta looked to be headed for the final from the very start of the competition, as the lightning fast and stylish goofyfooter attacked each wave and racked up heat wins. In his semifinal heat against Jeksen he looked solidly in the lead at the midpoint, but then lost it when Jeksen ripped of an 8 pointer. Widiarta had a chance to get it back in the last 30 seconds but slipped off his board on his second bottom turn, so wasn't able to get the 7.1 score he needed to best Jeksen.
Today was the culmination of four days of competition at Canggu Beach, the west coast of Bali's premier surfing arena. The competition was blessed with great conditions for the most part, with waves ranging from 3 foot on up to today's occasional 6 footers. The wind was a factor as is normal during this time of year, so early morning starts were required, and by noon most days the cross-on-shore winds had the competition halted for the day.
After the Open final, the Masters Division contestants (over 35 years of age) had their turn in out the water. By this time the swell had picked up even more on the high tide, with massive 6 foot closing out sets rolling in. But the older veterans weren't phased and paddled out to do battle, not just against each other but also against the sizeable waves. Winner Ketut Menda, the legendary owner of the Bali Barrel Surf Shop in Kuta was overjoyed at his win, barely able to catch his breath. But never short of words from atop the podium, he said, "Thanks everybody, the sponsors, Oakley, my family, and especially my God for giving me the strength to make it through that final!"
Oakley's Brad Cunningham was rightfully very satisfied with this year's event, saying, "Our goal this year was to hold our comp at a great venue and give the boys great waves to compete in, and I think everyone will agree that we achieved this and more. The boys really surfed their guts out and it was a joy to watch. Thanks to all the surfers, the judges, the ISC crew, our Oakley crew, and all our sponsors for making it such a big success!"
Winner of the Coca-Cola ISC Best Maneuver Award goes to Raditya Rondi, who scored the most points for a single wave during yesterday's competition, a 9.0. He goes home with Rp 500,000 and 5 cases of Coca-Cola products!
The Oakley Pro 2009 was sponsored by Oakley Indonesia, Extreme Toys, New Era, San Miguel Light, GUS, and OZ101.2 FM Radio, and is proudly sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour.
Open Division Results
1. Mustofa Jeksen
2. Dedi Santoso
3. Devis Ratif – Garut Widiarta
Masters Division Results
1. Ketut Menda
2. Wayan Widiarta
3. Made Artha
4. Ketut Wartawan
The next event on the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship tour will be the Rote Open 2009, from September 16-19 on the island of Rote in East Indonesia. For more info please call the ISC office at (+62 361) 768293
Text and Photos by Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour
Thanks,
Eka I. Rochmansyah
Media Coordinator ISC
Photo 1 : Canggu Final Day
Photo 2 : Ketut Menda
Photo 3 : Dedy Santoso
Photo 4 : Mustofa Jeksen In Action
Photo 5 : Mustofa Jeksen Interview
Photo 6 : Best Manuver Raditya
Photo 7 : Winners Podium
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