KEN IGE/KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Joel Centeio won an event for the third straight time at Kewalo Basin yesterday.
Centeio carves up Kewalo
Recently it hasn't mattered which surf contest. As long as it's held at Kewalo Basin, young professional Joel Centeio wins.
Yesterday, the contest was the Macy's E-Series Championship. And like he did twice last month, Centeio scored the victory for his third straight win overall at "Kewalos."
"Kewalos is just showing me love," the 20-year-old Makakilo resident said. "(And) I just feel great (with my surfing). I've been training a bunch and working at it."
Of his two earlier wins, the most recent came just last week at the Hawaii Junior Pro -- where Centeio also happened to be defending champion. The one before that was at the last Macy's event before yesterday.
"You keep winning heats, keep winning contests, and you get more and more confident," Centeio said.
Waves rolled through with faces ranging from 2 to 8 feet. Despite an acrobatic aerial maneuver late in the four-man final, Pearl City's Jason Shibata, 22, placed second.
Better than almost everyone else except Centeio for the second straight week, two North Shore surfers, Jamie O'Brien and Nathan Carroll, finished third and fourth. The pair also made the Junior Pro final last Tuesday, with Carroll, 18, finishing third then, and O'Brien, 19, fourth.
"I'm getting sick of losing," O'Brien said. "I've been consistent, but Joel's been super consistent."
A five-event mini tour, this inaugural Macy's series started in February. The schedule first included two contests on Oahu's West Side, followed by three consecutive events at Kewalos (Centeio placed third in the first of these).
Organized to help the careers of Hawaii surfers ages 17-28, the series contests were run with the same format and judging system used on the Association of Surfing Professionals' world tours. And cash prizes were awarded to encourage travel to ASP events. Centeio picked up $2,000 yesterday, while Shibata received $1,000, O'Brien $600, and Carroll $400.
As the only two-time winner, Centeio also finished the series with the most cumulative points and as the overall champion. Second through fourth were: Macy Mullen, Shawn Sutton and Fred Patacchia.
"The series is catered to helping out the up-and-coming pros, or the guys coming out of the amateur ranks looking to break into the pro ranks," organizer Bert Ishimaru said. "The series was created to help elevate their surfing to a higher level, especially if they're going to travel overseas to do some of the (World Qualifying Series) events."
Centeio, in fact, is set to leave today for the Maldives to compete in the next WQS event. And perhaps showing he's ready to conquer some of the world's best, Centeio placed first in each of his three heats en route to a spot in yesterday's 35-minute final.
When the last heat began, however, it was O'Brien who jumped out to the lead, when he scored 7.0 points (out of 10 maximum) seven minutes in for a carving slash and then a 360-degree turn while riding right.
But just as he did at the Junior Pro, Centeio waited patiently for better waves, and after 12 minutes finally picked up an 8.0 riding left. "Pretty much, patience is the key (at Kewalos) because not every wave is good and not every wave is going to let you get the big score," he said.
Shibata countered with his best ride of the heat -- an 8.25 -- 10 minutes later, and then finished his scoring (only top two rides count) with a 7.55 for a snap and frontside tail-reverse aerial combination with three minutes left.
But Shibata's last wave did no better than move him into second, where he finished. That's because Centeio had ridden an 8-foot left with about 10 minutes remaining, and either hit the lip or snapped under the curl of the wave all the way inside for an 8.85 -- highest of the final.
No one could better Centeio's 16.85 total in the last third of the heat. Shibata finished with 15.80, O'Brien 14.35, and Carroll 14.25.
"I had the good right, I air-reversed and had two moves (total on the wave) -- I kind of thought the score would be a little better," Shibata said. "But that's how it goes. Nevertheless, I had a good day.
"The E-Series has been great," he added. "Before, there were only (similar) contests in January and November. ... And it helps us up our performance on the WQS because this is exactly how it is (run)."
Like Centeio, O'Brien is also set to leave today for the Maldives, while Shibata plans to wait until July to rejoin the WQS. Carroll, the only amateur among the group, will participate in the National Scholastic Surfing Association Championships in California at the end of this month.
A schedule has yet to be finalized, but E-Series representatives have plans to bring the mini tour back for another season, perhaps as early as September.
