URBIZTONDO BEACH, San Juan, La Union, Philippines (Wednesday, January 21, 2026) – The second day of competition in the World Surf League (WSL) La Union International Pro World Longboard Tour qualifier was notable for an incredible showing of the Filipino contingent. In clean three-to-four-foot swell at Monaliza Point, local La Union competitors claimed half of the 16 heats surfed today in men’s Round of 64, with a total of 11 Filipinos moving into the Round of 32.
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The highest numbers of the day went to brothers Rogelio Jr Esquievel (PHL) and June Esquivel (PHL), who earned two-wave totals of 15.17 (out of a possible 20) and 14.50, respectively. The elder brother, Rogelio, closed out a dominant win with the only excellent score of the day, an 8.50 (out of a possible 10), while June found a 7.67 to claim victory ahead of two-time World Champion Phil Rajzman (BRA). Though the brothers are extremely competitive with each other, no love is lost between the two in the water.
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“My favorite is my brother,” June Esquivel said. “He taught me how to use priority and where I can go and where I can get the good waves.”
The first Filipino surfer to qualify for the Longboard Tour and current World No. 8, Rogelio has won all three previous editions of the event, leaving him undefeated at home. As the unofficial leader and coach of the local crew, the 29-year-old is hopeful that Filipinos will earn the two wildcard spots available on the 2026 Longboard Tour for the winner and runner-up. Esquievel shared his heat with another local, John Bryan Martinez (PHL), who was a standout on day one, but was knocked into an elimination position at the end by Douwe Robroch (NLD), who advanced in second place.
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“I feel so sad for my fellow Filipino, Bitong [John Bryan Martinez], because he was in the second position for the last few minutes, and then [Douwe Robroch] got the wave, and he couldn’t manage priority,” Rogelio Jr Esquievel said. “I’m giving them all my advice and trying to share what I’ve learned from the World Longboard Tour. I want them to be one of the best in the world too, so that’s why I’m sharing everything I have with them.”
Fellow locals Benito Nerida (PHL), Roger Casogay (PHL), Rj Chico Lopez (PHL), Perry Ventura (PHL), Crisanto Villanueva (PHL), and Justin Ebueza (PHL) each won their respective heats, while Ebueza’s older brother Jomarie Ebueza (PHL) and Edgar Calvo Jr. (PHL) progressed in second place, along with the Esquivel brothers’ nephew, Andrew Esquivel (PHL). Jomarie was knocked into second after Lukas Skinner (GBR) surged into the lead late in their heat to claim the first international heat win of the day, ending a run of six straight Filipino victories.
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Skinner chose to stay on and compete in his first WSL longboard event with his father Ben Skinner (GBR) after competing in the recently wrapped WSL World Junior Championships. The fact that Jomarie was a Semifinalist in the two previous editions of the event and a rookie on the Longboard Tour in 2025 made Lukas’ puncture of the Filipino dominance all the more surprising. Meanwhile, the elder Skinner also won in his event debut, posting a 7.00 on his very first wave. After finishing outside the Longboard Tour Top 10 for the first time since 2017, the veteran is looking for a big finish in the Philippines to maintain his long-held place amongst the world’s best, while also relishing the opportunity to compete alongside his son
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“I’ve had the best time here in La Union, everyone’s been so welcoming, and you can just tell how passionate everybody is about longboarding and surfing in general,” Skinner said. “It’s so refreshing to come somewhere like this that not just the surfers, but everybody on the beach, knows and understands what’s going on. The level of surfing here is blowing my mind, it’s amazing. Obviously Jayr [Rogelio Jr Esquievel] is right at the top of that alongside Jomarie [Ebueza], Roger [Casogay], June [Esquivel], all of them. I can’t name them all because there’s just too many. But yeah, blown away by the place to be honest. Right now, I get way more out of it watching my kids surf than actually myself and so I’m privileged that they want to surf with me. The fact that they want to be in the ocean and surf together is real special, so we’re just going to enjoy that and hopefully we get to do it for the rest of our lives.”
Up-and-coming competitors Gavin Idone (USA), Jack Tyro (NZL), and Ben Considine (AUS), each found success today. All three have previously received wildcards to compete in Longboard Tour events but have yet to qualify. The sole goofy-footer of the trio, Considine posted the best numbers with a 12.36 heat total. Increasing his scores with every wave surfed, the Australian built to a 6.33 that featured critical nose work, along with a drawn-out roundhouse cutback that has been perfected on the point breaks of his home in Victoria.
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“The waves really showed up today, it was super, super fun,” Considine said. “I was lucky to find a few that kind of reeled off on the wall, which was epic, allowed for some nose-rides and some turns. I just tried to keep it pretty simple out there and kind of push where I needed to and let the wave flow when I needed to, stoked it worked out.”
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Behind Considine, former Longboard Tour competitor Kaimana Takayama (USA) claimed a buzzer-beater to advance in second, eliminating compatriot Nico Espinosa (USA) and Indonesia’s Ivan Sudena (INA). Tour mainstay Taka Inoue (JPN) also narrowly avoided elimination with a last-second score to keep his hopes of requalifying alive.
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The La Union International Pro will be held at Monaliza Point at Urbiztondo Beach, San Juan, La Union, Philippines, from January 20-24, 2026.