Last week, it was a world championship in Ecuador.

Next stop, Zippy's.

That's where Keanu Asing said his first destination was after returning to Honolulu on Tuesday as the world champion of the Boys 16 division of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship.

"Straight to eat — chili and rice," said Asing, who is 15 and lives in 'Ewa.

It is a similar hunger for learning and success that helped lead Asing to the prestigious title in Salinas, Ecuador.

The world junior championship is considered the most prestigious international contest for surfers age 18 and younger.

Asing is the fourth surfer from Hawai'i to win a world junior championship. The others are Kalani Robb (1994), Joel Centeio (2000) and Tonino Benson (2005).

"I'm still super-psyched," Asing said. "I guess it's kind of sinking in now because I've been driving all over the island for interviews and photo shoots and stuff like that."

Team Hawai'i head coach Rainos Hayes said Asing fulfilled his role as Hawai'i's top seed in the Boys 16 division.

"He was having a really good year already leading up to this," Hayes said. "So we knew if he could stay focused and perform to the level that the judges were looking for, then he was capable of winning."

Coincidence or not, Asing's recent success came during his first year at Elite Element Academy — an online home-school program. He is currently completing his sophomore year.

"I was actually hesitant about taking him out of regular school at first," said his father, Tommy Asing. "When it comes down to it, school is school and surfing is surfing. It's two separate things. But Keanu has really become a better learner this year. It's like he's more independent now, and maybe that's because he has to do a lot of his own stuff for home school."

Hayes said Asing's ability to adapt quickly to the ever-changing conditions at Ecuador was a key to his success.

"There was a left point and a right point, and they were far away, and very different breaks," Hayes said. "So we would talk before every heat about the conditions and what it would take to get a good score. To his credit, Keanu picked it up real quick. He has a gift for that because it's not easy for young surfers to do that at a beach that's foreign to them."

It helped, though, that the waves were powerful for the first few days of the eight-day contest. Asing said it was similar to Kewalo Basin during a south shore swell.

"It was actually way better than I thought it would be," Asing said. "It wasn't easy. We had to get used to it. But it was still good, especially for a contest. We all thought it was going to be super-small."

The contest followed a double-elimination format, and Asing lost one heat early in the week. He then had to advance through five "win-or-go-home" heats in the repechage bracket to qualify for the grand final.

"It was weird, every day I woke up, it was like I felt stronger than the day before," Asing said. "By that last day, I felt like a champion, even though I knew I had to come out of the (repechage bracket). I just felt like something good was going to happen."

He went on to edge Brazil's Gabriel Medina in the final.

In a scheduling twist, Asing must still prepare for the NSSA National Championships at San Clemente, Calif., in June.

"I know everybody will be looking to beat me, but I just have to try and block it out and do my best again," Asing said. "Every contest is hard — nationals, worlds, even all the contests here (in Hawai'i)."

Led by Asing, Team Hawai'i finished second to Australia in the team standings. Brazil was third and a separate United States team was fourth.

"Australia has a large support group, a whole program built around their kids," Hayes said. "For us to be right there, pushing them to the last day is a phenomenal accomplishment for our kids."

Hayes said it helped this year to receive a significant sponsorship boost from Verizon Wireless and Hard Rock Cafe.

"All the logistics that goes into taking 12 kids halfway around the world is not easy," Hayes said. "So getting the support we did this year was huge."

Two other Hawai'i surfers won individual medals: Alessa Quizon placed third in the Girls 18 division, and Dylan Goodale placed fourth in the Boys 18 division.

Other members of the team were Tanner Hendrickson, Albee Layer, Kyle Galtes, Leila Hurst, Malia Manuel, Nage Melamed, Matty Costa, Kaimana Jaquias and Ezekiel Lau.