3 April 2010, Canggu-Bali:  As anticipated, the heat was on and the competition fierce through the remainder of the Round 3 heats that were run at Canggu today.  Though the waves and weather conditions were not stellar by any means, the lack of waves quality was not an impediment but actually seemed to stoke up the competitive fire as the morning progressed.

First out in the 2-3 foot and glassy waves under the threat of rain 2008 Coca-Cola ISC Champion and current WQS surfer Dede Suryana, going head to head with last years Oakley Pro winner Mustofa Jeksen.  Suryana took the early lead with the first wave of the heat, but relinquished it to a charging Jeksen by mid heat.  With the end of the heat approaching and needing a score of 6.5 for the lead, Suryana picked on the best set wave of the heat and posted a 7.5 to finish in first place.

Said Suryana back on the beach with a relieved smile, “Wow, I feel so lucky to have gotten that set wave.  There were not that many coming through, and if Mus got it I would still be in second place with Kopling chasing me.  If Kopling got it I probably would’ve been bumped into third place and out of the comp. So happy for that wave!”

Suryana will meet Garut Widiarta and Jeksen will meet Agus Frimanto in the man-on-man Round 4 tomorrow.

In Heat 4, last year’s runner-up Dedi Santoso also had a nail biter, finally snagging a wave at the 5 minute mark that put him up in second place knocking off Ketut Sudarsana.  Komang “Gogo” Sanjaya got off to a blazing start with a 5.0 then added a 6.0 to lead from the start and finish in first place. Santoso came to the beach giving himself the CPR chest beating, saying, “I’m so lucky,…I’m so lucky”, with a big grin on his face.

In the underdog category, the Nusa Lembongan duo of Tia Nustawan and Agus Frimanto did their island proud today, both surfing aggressively to Round 4 berths.  18-year-old Nustawan narrowly pushed Mega Semadhi out of a Round 4 berth by snagging a buzzer-beating wave that scored him just enough to put him in second place.  He joined the on-fire Raditya Rondi in advancing to Round 4.

16-year-old Frimanto had the magic touch going in his heat against senior surfers Made Artha, Made Awan, and Rahtu Suargita.  Leading from the start, he ripped apart wave after wave to end the heat with a total score of 12.25 over second place finisher Made Awan’s total of 10.0.

High wave score of the day goes to Wayan Suprayitna, who posted a 7.9 in the final heat of Round 3 to win the heat, nabbing the only barrel of the morning, carving a big cutback, then chalking up a few more turns on the inside to end up on the sand. Garut Widiarta took second in the same heat by taking every wave that came his way, but coming dangerously close to being nudged out by a charging Agus Purnawan in the final seconds.

According to the swell forecasts, the waves should be picking up through today and giving some great conditions for tomorrow’s Round 4 action.

The competitors and crew will be standing by at 7:00 am for a possible 7:30 start.  Come on out and spend your Sunday enjoying the best surfers in Indonesia going ballistic on some of the best waves in Bali!  See attached Heat Draw for tomorrow's lineup.

To check out today’s and the previous day's action, go to Oakley’s minisite at www.oakleyindonesia.com/oakleypro10 and to the ISC website at www.isctour.com

The Oakley Pro 2010 is sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour and is sponsored/supported by Extreme Toys, New Era, San Miguel Light, OZ 101.2 FM, SurfTime, Lines, Magic Wave, and GUS.

Text and Photos:  Tim Hain (Coca-Cola ISC Tour)