Sandy Bay's Paco Divers secured a nail-biting win in the Under 20 men's division at the O'Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro.
Divers had his work cut out in the final of the two-day event at Makorori Beach, Gisborne, at the weekend, up against a talented line-up of Raglan's Billy Stairmand, Ryan
Hawker of Piha and Mt Maunganui's Alex Dive.
The Northland surfer, who has returned after competing for five months Europe, found himself languishing at the rear of the field midway through the 25-minute final before storming back with consecutive rides of 6.50 and 7.25 to establish a considerable lead.
Early heat leader and eventual Open Men's winner Stairmand revelled in the small onshore conditions but found himself requiring a 7.01 point ride to
win the final with only seconds
to go.
Earlier on Sunday, Divers had been eliminated in the Open Men's Division during the first semifinal but there was no sign of him giving up on the hunt for an Under 20s win.
During the Under 20s final, Divers sat on Stairmand, executing some excellent blocking manoeuvres before he made a risky move, taking off on a wave and gifting the Raglan surfer a last-ditch chance for victory.
Stairmand caught the last wave with five seconds on the clock and rode it to the beach completing several big turns, scoring a 6.95 point ride for a narrow loss.
Divers' victory at the Surf Shop Pro landed him in fourth place at the coinciding last round of the Export Gold Series Under 20s.
Sean Peggs of Tairua defended his Export Gold Series title despite placing ninth at the Surf Shop Pro, finishing ahead of Dive in second and Buck Woods of Gisborne, in third.
