Igot, Orbiso top Bluewater SUP
Cyrill Igot capitalized on the mistake of Michael Flores to win the Open Category of the 2nd Bluewater SUP Challenge at the BLuewater Maribago Beach Resort last April 22.
Argy Bermejo topped the first heat of the Open Category while eventual champion Igot bagged the number one slot in the succeeding heat. In the finals, the race was close as the participants were evenly matched until Michael Flores broke his paddle and lost precious time against Igot, who capitalized on his mistake as he went on to win the race.
Igot got the P5,000 prize for finishing first, while Nathaniel Borromeo finished second and got P3,000. Flores settled for third and got P1,000.
In the women’s division, favorite Kristine Orbiso finished first over Dorothy Amit and Jodette Romaguera. Orbiso is the women’s reigning HRRAC SUP Champion and was highly-favored to win against the field.
The event was part of the Earth Day celebration of Bluewater Resorts, which is promoting free-energy sports such as paddling to further reduce the use of fossil fuel in watersports activities and to promote the culture of paddling in the island of Mactan.
The resort partnered with the Lapu-Lapu Stand-up Paddle Club to help organize the race for the second year in a row and tapped local board riding hero Dandoy Tongco as the race director.
The event was attended by some of the top talents in the local SUP community; among them reigning Flores, the HRRAC SUP Champion from Shangri-la Mactan and veteran paddlers Josephus Falcone of Grupo Nopo and Argy Bermejo of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.