Bermudez slams rival in wakeboard

MANILA, Philippines - Samantha Bermudez posted her second straight win while Davao pride Zech Stephenson pulled off a spectacular victory in the Open Wakeboard in the second stop of the Monster Energy Drink Philippine Qualifier Series presented by Safeguard Active at the DECA Homes Davao Wake Park in Mintal, Davao recently.

Bermudez repeated over Andrea Tanjangco to nail a second straight Open Women’s Wakeboard crown while Alex Andrada finished third in the event organized by the Wake Boarding and Waterskiing Association of the Philippines.

Manila top guns Junior Men’s champion and Open Wakeskate Junior Men’s runner-up Angelo Linao and Masters Men’s champion JV Tanjangco carried the fight for the Manila bets and ruled their respective events.

The Davao riders, meanwhile, came through with amazing stunts and near-flawless performances, forcing the Big City bets to step up their respective performances in the event backed by DECA Homes, Monster Energy Drink, Safeguard, Stokedinc, Ripcurl, Electric Visual, CWB and CTRL Wakeboards.

But the day belonged to Stephenson, who upstaged top Phl rider Carlo dela Torre in the premier Open Wakeboard men’s class.

While Dela Torre flashed his usual top form, Stephenson wowed the crowd with his near-flawless execution of more difficult tricks that earned the nod of board of judges, led by IWWF 4-star judge Korean based Jung SangHan.

Dela Torre tried to put one over Stephenson in his second run but his efforts were not enough to impress the judges. He settled for runner-up honors.

Another Davao bet Alex Lehman placed third followed by Angelo Cordero, Christian Joson and Symon Cantos in that order.

Zech’s younger brother Joshua Stephenson clinched the Open Wakeskate men’s title while Jose Antonio Hernandez and Franco Carabuena made it a 1-2 finish for Davao in the boys division.

Davao’s top female rider Brenda Bagsik prevailed in the Masters Women’s class over Alma Tanjangco while Celina Cembrano bagged the Junior Ladies crown.

Other Davao riders who made their marks were Junior Men’s runner-up Lorenzo Carabuena, Masters Men’s runner-up Peter Abella, and Open Wakeskate Men’s runner-up Obi Cembrano.

Wakeboarding president JV Borromeo was impressed by the emergence of top caliber Davao riders who could be tapped for various international competitions such as the SEA Games, Asian Games and the forthcoming “IWWF Worlds” which the country will host on Nov. 6-11 at the newly constructed world standard DECA Clark Wake Park.

The final stop of the Monster Energy Drink Philippine Qualifier Series is set Oct. 20 at the DECA Clark Wake Park.

For details, log on to website wwasp.com.ph or send email to [email protected] or download registration forms at wwasp.com.ph/cablewakeboard.net or contact WWASP at 724-5886 c/o Belle or C-lo.