PHOTO: Justin Mujica (prt)
Saturday, October 7th

The grand final of the 9th O’neill Trophy started at 1.15 pm in good 3 ft waves. The tide had come up and the whole settling was different for the ladt four men. Losing no time Jonathan Gonzales (Cny), the best surfer of the event so far, posted a 5.67 to open the battle. Using all his professionalism, Justin Mujica (Prt) answered a few seconds later while Marc Lacomare (Fra) was getting a paddling interference. The young gun, who had secured a very good 7.5 pointer before that, knew he had lost the final and finished the heat disappointed. Jonathan Gonzales (Cny) then repeated Marc’s mistake and got an interference as well while Justin was paddling into a lefthander, to the right side of El Socorro Beach. The show went on fire and having nothing to lose, the boys started busting some airs trying the most to stick back to first place. The situation of the thirty minute decider kept changing, Aritz Aranburu (Euk) getting into the race a bit later but always with the same efficiency and competitivity. The crowd had grown big during the break and the four men could hear the cheerings from the beach while they were battling for the $ 5 000 winner’s cheque. Justin Mujica (Prt) eventually sealed the event keeping fermly a hold on the first place, using the strategy to keep priority on the best waves and leave the others away from reachin him.

“It’s great to get this title! I’m so stoked ! It was so important for me to start the canarian leg the best way and winning this O’Neill event is even better for my sponsor. I’m now looking forward to the other events as everything is going to get bigger and bigger. The points are going to be more important and it’s crucial for me to stay in the Asp Europe race for this year,” started the Champion. “ I came to the Canary Islands with the will to win and for a start, it’s just what I needed. I’m feeling good with my boards, I’m fit and ready to get barreled at El Confital for the following event. A big thank you to O’Neill, La Caja de Canarias and ASP for making this event possible,” finished Justin Mujica, now 3rd on the Asp Europe Ratings.

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