Keanu Asing rises to the challenge at the final of ASP 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior – Surfing news
Hawaii’s exciting young gun Keanu Asing prevailed over an impressive field of surfers to get his hands on the Association of Surfing Professionals 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior title on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at the Lower Trestles in California.
The victory at the seventh of the nine-stop ASP North America Pro Junior series earned him a prize money of $5,000 along with 20,000 coveted ASP points.
The final battle was comprised of some of the top up-and-coming surfers from around the world. Other than Asing, the field consisted of the defending ASP World Junior Champion from Australia Jack Freestone, current ASP North America Pro Series leader from
America Kolohe Andino and the 2009 ASP North America Pro Junior Series Champion Nat Young.
With such intimidating competitors, the Hawaiian surfer had quite a tough fight on his hands. He was also at a little disadvantage because of his unimpressive semi-final performance, where he had lost to Young and finished in second place. On the other hand,
Young and Andino were soaring with confidence because of their successful semi-final performances. Freestone was not any less threatening either.
As the final kicked off, Asing did not get off to a good start and only managed to get a 5.70 off his first wave. Trailing his rivals for a major portion of the contest, the Hawaiian patiently waited for a good wave to make a substantial impact in the final.
The rest of the field was going strong, scoring good to get a decent lead over the Hawaiian.
Freestone had managed to take the lead after his two-wave score of 13.43, while Andino was in second place with 13.30. Young sat in third place with 11.53. Asing found himself at the bottom with the lowest score, though he still had one wave to go.
Heading towards the buzzer, the Hawaiian finally locked a decent wave to pull off a series of critical backside turns. This wave earned him eight points to put him ahead of his competitors with a final score of 13.70. The score saw him off to victory and
allowed him to clinch the most points on offer. It furthered his campaign towards qualifications for the high-status ASP World Junior Tour.
Talking to the ASP after the final, Asing said that he was so down in the final and was simply trying to perform well because of the large crowd on the beach.
He said, “I got that one set and got an 8. I needed a 4 and was hoping I would get a wave and as I was paddling I asked Nat (Young) which wave he was going to go and he said he wasn’t going. I’m just glad I got that little wave at a clutch time in the heat,
Mother Nature and God gave that one to me.”
The victory at the 5-Star Oakley Pro Junior has moved Asing to the number two slot on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series rankings.
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