Jason Shibata tops Sponsor Me Hawaii competition at Ala Moana Bowls

HONOLULU—Make no mistake: Jason Shibata isn’t ready to pass the competitive torch just yet. Just when the 29-year-old starts talking about a life after pro surfing life, he turns in the biggest result of his career, in front of a home crowd, to take first place in the $25,000 Sponsor Me Hawaii. Shibata’s win of this 2-star rated Association of Surfing Professionals event earned him $5,000 and a long-awaited turn on the victory dais.

Shibata couldn’t have written the script any better for himself: Perfect five-foot surf at his childhood stomping ground of Ala Moana Bowls with all of his peers there to enjoy it with him. He rarely surfs the place these days, opting for something a little less crowded and intense. But the opportunity to dominate the coveted South Shore lineup with just three others out was one he couldn’t help but put to good use. His backhand attack was vertical, critical and lightning fast. His tube-riding, which earned him an 8.6 and ultimately clinched the final, was deep and committed.

“I was tripping because I wasn’t really in the spot [for the tube],” said Shibata. “I was really deep and it swung wide. I just paddled ... got in, it started off really tight and almondy and I’m going for it. But it let me out and from then on I had a huge smile on my face and thought, maybe today is the day, and I just went with it.”

Along with his fellow finalists Kai Barger (Haiku, Maui, 2nd), Pancho Sullivan (Haleiwa, 3rd), and Casey Brown (Kona, Hawaii), Shibata surfed through five rounds over 11 hours today. It was a grueling day that was well worth the effort.

Barger gave Shibata the best run for his money, putting it all on the line to the final horn where he popped a reverse air 360, but couldn’t steal the win.

Equal fifth overall, losing out in the semi-finals, were Dustin Cuizon and Kalani Robb. Equal seventh, also bowing out in the semi’s, were Solomon Ortiz and Makuakai Rothman.

Worthy of a special mention today was downtown Honolulu civil engineer Gregg Nakamura, who took a day off work and took down former world champion Sunny Garcia in his opening heat of the morning. Before his run ended in the quarters, Nakamura had also posted heat wins over both Shibata and Barger. He’s now considering a trip to Las Vegas to test his lucky streak; while he was in the water taking out heats, his wife won a Sponsor Me lucky draw surfboard, closely followed by his cousin from out of town who was also drawn at random to win a board.

Sponsor Me Entertainment, ASP Hawaii, TransWorldSurf.com, Da Hui, Sony, and Vita Coco partnered to present the Sponsor Me Hawaii - a critically important event of the local surfers on three levels: International ratings points, the opportunity to win prize money and the chance to claim a spot in the coveted year-end $1,000,000 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series, based on year-end ASP Hawaii rankings.

RESULTS:
All surfers from Hawaii unless noted otherwise.
Surfers listed in order of placing, 1st through 4th.
Each score out of a total of 20.

FINAL:
1st. Jason Shibata (Waipahu, Oahu 29) - 17.5 out of 20 - $5,000
2nd. Kai Barger (Haiku, Maui, 20) - 15.6 - $2,500
3rd. Pancho Sullivan (Haleiwa, Oahu 36) - 11.25 - $2,000
4th. Casey Brown (Kona, Hawaii, 22) - 9.2 - $1,500

Semi-Finals:
H1: Casey Brown; Pancho Sullivan; Kalani Robb; Solomon Ortiz
H2: Kai Barger; Jason Shibata; Dustin Cuizon; Makuakai Rothman

Quarter Finals:
H1: Kalani Robb; Casey Brown; Alex Smith; Myles Padaca
H2: Pancho Sullivan; Solomon Ortiz; Tyler Newton; Liam McNamara
H3: Makuakai Rothman; Dustin Cuizon; Jonah Morgan; Gregg Nakamura
H4: Kai Barger; Jason Shibata; Joel Centeio; Flynn Novak

Round of 32:
H1: Kalani Robb; Solomon Ortiz; Sean Moody; Keli Everett
H2: Casey Brown; Tyler Newton; Zachary Arreola; Kevin Sullivan
H3: Liam McNamara; Myles Padaca; Billy Kemper; Roy Powers
H4: Pancho Sullivan; Alex Smith; Evan Valiere; Edrick Baldwin (USA)
H5: Gregg Nakamura; Jason Shibata; Hank Gaskell; Kevin Kapsky
H6: Makuakai Rothman; Kai Barger; Charlie Carroll; Danny Fuller
H7: Joel Centeio; Jonah Morgan; Ola Eleogram; Derek Ho
H8: Flynn Novak; Dustin Cuizon; Randall Paulson; Jesse Merle-Jones

ROUND OF 64:
H1: Kalani Robb; Kevin Sullivan; Barak Maor; Keetin Devin (USA)
H2: Solomon Ortiz; Zachary Arreola; Larry Rios; Ezra Sitt
H3: Tyler Newton (USA); Sean Moody; Austin Vicente; Makai McNamara
H4: Casey Brown; Keli Everett; Makani Ciotti; Drew Pringle
H5: Myles Padaca; Evan Valiere; Daniel Jones; Jason Tangalin
H6: Billy Kemper; Pancho Sullivan; Kawai Lindo; Theo Niarchos
H7: Alex Smith; Liam McNamara; Love Hodel; Keoki Young
H8: Edrick Baldwin (USA); Roy Powers; Davin Torres-Jaime; Kaipo Jaquias
H9: Gregg Nakamura; Kai Barger; Granger Larsen; Sunny Garcia
H10: Jason Shibata; Charlie Carroll; Lance Groover; Kawehi Ponce
H11: Makuakai Rothman; Kevin Kapsky; Matt Meola; Landon McNamara
H12: Danny Fuller; Hank Gaskell; Ian Bowman; Jason Magallanes
H13: Ola Eleogram; Jesse Merle-Jones; Jamie O’Brien; Kekoa Cazimero
H14: Derek Ho; Flyn Novak; Ha’a Aikau; Dege O’Connell
H15: Randall Paulson; Jonah Morgan; Jeremy Doudt; Albee Layer
H16: Dustin Cuizon; Joel Centeio; Sean Bacon; Keoni Nozaki