Indonesia’s Dean Permana and the Philippine's Daisy Valdez claimed the Men’s and Woman’s Division wins respectively today on Day 2 of the RAST #2 stop at Makinohara Beach.

The day’s action began in glassy 1-2 foot perfect longboarding waves with slight offshore winds and great weather conditions.  First up were the Women’s semifinals, followed by the Men’s Semifinals, and then after a 30-minute break the Women’s and Men’s finals. Onshore winds started up during the Women's final but as the break is protected by a nearby jetty, the relatively clean wave faces still offered the finalists some good scoring potential.

After winning an exciting dual with one of Japan’s best longboarders Asumi Hironori in Semifinal 1, where he posted the event’s highest single waves score of an 8.33, Dean Permana went on to claim victory against Takahiro Tuchiya in the 25 minute final.  His ability to ferret out noseriding sections and perform intricate footwork had him jumping into the lead, which he maintained until the horn sounded.

When asked what he felt was the key to winning the final today Permana replied, “I felt really positive about my surfing today and have so many friends that supported me, so that’s how I think I could win.  I’m so happy to be able to represent my town of Batu Karas in West Java as the winner of this event today.”

“In the finals it was challenging because the wind came up and it made it harder to find the good waves, as there were lots of closeouts, but luckily I found enough waves and surfed well enough to win. I want to say thanks to REnextop, my friends who supported me to come to Japan, and to the Japanese people here for sharing their waves and beach with us, thanks so much!” he added.

Winning the Women’s Longboard Division was the Philippine’s Daisy Valdez, who was up against China’s Monica Guo in the final.  Valdez got into the lead early and was always in the right place when the set waves came, leaving Gou prowling the lineup and chasing a big score until the horn blew.

“The waves were fast and it was a bit bumpy and windy for the final, so it was definitely a challenge so I’m really proud of my win, said Valdez.  When asked the secret to her wave selection she explained, “I saw this current going out and that slowed the waves up a bit so I knew if I stayed in that section I had a better chance do some hang 5’s and hang 10’s and get some good scores.  Also I was using a board that Uno loaned me and it worked really well.  I’m so happy to win this time after being runner up at the last event, and I’ll be trying my best to attend all the events and be the champion of the series.  Thanks to REnextop and all my supporters so I could be here in Japan!

Runner up Monica Guo from China wasn’t disappointed with her results, just that she didn’t many good waves.  “I felt really nervous out there, but still I had fun,” she said.  “I didn’t get any good waves until later in the heat, and by then I was way behind in points.  But I was happy just to be in the final, as I didn’t get to go to the first event in Canggu so this is a great result for my first RAST event.  Besides, I’m having so much fun here hanging out and surfing with the girls and meeting new people, it’s such a great place and a good time. Thanks to everybody that made it all happen especially my sponsor REnextop!” she added.

Tomorrow will see the completion of the RAST #2 event where the Men’s and Women’s Shortboard Divisions will be run, so look for a full and exciting day on the beach with some of Japan’s best men and women surfers mixing it up with surfers from China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Korea.