Megan Abubo passed on her doctor's advice, and now she has a new truck and $10,000 to show for it.

Abubo — competing with injured ribs — tied for fifth place in the Billabong Pro Maui women's contest yesterday. It was enough to clinch her first Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship.

"This is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life," said Abubo, who is 29 and from Waialua. "It's what every Hawaiian surfer wants to win growing up. I'm so stoked right now."

Abubo shared the trophy stage with Australia's Stephanie Gilmore, who won the Billabong Pro Maui contest.

Gilmore, 19, clinched the 2007 women's world championship on Thursday. She is the first surfer to win a world title in her rookie season.

The Billabong Pro Maui served as the final contest for both the Vans Triple Crown series and the 2007 World Championship Tour.

"It's been such an incredible year for me," Gilmore said. "Everything from traveling with my friends, to winning events, to claiming the title in Maui. It's all been so much fun. I can't believe it. To finish the year with another win, I'm just over the moon."

The women's World Championship Tour featured eight contests in 2007. Gilmore won four of them.

"I'm actually super-close with Steph, so I'm really happy for her," Abubo said. "She's going to be a good ambassador for the sport, and she'll be tough to beat."

The final day of the Billabong Pro Maui was run in wave-face heights that ranged from 4 to 6 feet at Honolua Bay, Maui. The quarterfinals, semifinals and final were all completed yesterday.

"It was really inconsistent and small, especially for a place as good as Honolua," Abubo said. "But there's nothing in the forecast, so we had to finish."

Abubo lost her quarterfinal heat to South Africa's Rosanne Hodge. Melanie Bartels of Wai'anae and Keala Kennelly of Kaua'i were also eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Australia's Layne Beachley could have won the Triple Crown title by reaching the final, but she was eliminated in the semifinals.

"I knew what Layne had to do to beat me, so I left (the beach)," Abubo said. "I was too nervous. I couldn't watch."

Abubo won the first contest in the Triple Crown series — the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach. She then tied for seventh at the second contest, the Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach.

In the semifinals of the Roxy Pro, Abubo injured the ribs on her left side during a wipeout. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, and was diagnosed with bruised ribs and torn muscles between the ribs.

The doctor's recommendation was rest. Instead, Abubo surfed in Maui with a thick wetsuit to protect her ribs.

"It was really sore, to be honest," she said. "But my goal was to win the Triple Crown, and being so close, I didn't want to give up."

Abubo received a new truck and $10,000 as the Triple Crown champion. She also got $4,500 for reaching the quarterfinals of the Maui contest.

"I need it," she said. "I'm still paying for my house."

BILLABONG PRO MAUI

1, Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), $12,000. 2, Jessi Miley-Dyer (Australia), $7,000. 3 (tie), Layne Beachley (Australia) and Rosanne Hodge (South Africa), $5,000. 5 (tie), Megan Abubo (Hawai'i), Melanie Bartels (Hawai'i), Keala Kennelly (Hawai'i) and Claire Bevilacqua (Australia), $4,500.

2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR

1, Stephanie Gilmore (Australia), 6,708 points. 2, Sofia Mulanovich (Peru), 5,947. 3, Silvana Lima (Brazil), 5,342. 4, Samantha Cornish (Australia), 4,620. 5, Layne Beachley (Australia), 4,610. 6, Amee Donohoe (Australia), 4,406. 7, Chelsea Hedges (Australia), 4,238. 8, Jessi Miley-Dyer (Australia), 4,165. 9, Rebecca Woods (Australia), 3,582. 10, Melanie Bartels (Hawai'i), 3,168. 11, Megan Abubo (Hawai'i), 3,054. 12, Rosanne Hodge (South Africa), 3,000. 13, Claire Bevilacqua (Australia), 2,976. 14, Melanie Redman-Carr (Australia), 2,592. 15, Caroline Sarran (France), 2,322. 16, Rochelle Ballard (Hawai'i), 1,890. 17, Leilani Gryde (Hawai'i), 1,152.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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