Adriano de Souza and Michel Bourez victorious in Round 3 of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast – Surfing News
Brazil’s Adriano de Souza and French Polynesia’s Michel Bourez prevailed in their respective Round 3 heats of the opening event of 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, which went down at Snapper
Rocks in Queensland, Australia, on Monday, February 27.
De Souza secured his place in the fourth heat after beating America’s Kolohe Andino in the third heat, eliminating the latter from the competition in the process.
Bourez also advanced through into Round 4 after triumphing over Australia’s Bede Durbidge in the fourth heat, bringing the competition to a premature end for the latter.
The 25-year-old De Souza enjoyed an advantage over Andino in terms of experience. While he was competing in his seventh elite tour, it was the first time for the young Californian sensation to join the ranks of ASP Top 34.
Despite the huge difference in experience, Andino put on a commendable fight during the course of the heat. Locking a couple of good waves, he posted a 6.07 and 6.67 on the score-board for a heat-total of 12.74 points.
However, De Souza managed to outscore him with a 6.50 and 7.57-point wave, which resulted in a heat-total of 14.07 points.
“It was a tough heat for sure,” De Souza said. “I respect Kolohe [Andino] a lot, he’s only 17-years-old, but he can do a lot of damage out there. I’m feeling good and trying to concentrate on myself, I came here 10 days early and really know the wave out
there, and I think my experience from 7 years on tour helped me in that heat. I was trying defend my position in the top 5 and he’s trying to do well in his first event, it was a good heat.”
The fourth heat featured an impressive performance by Bourez as he got the better of Durbidge in a battle for survival.
As the heat kicked-off, the French Polynesian surfer got down to business right away and posted a 7.43 on the score-board to put his rival under pressure. Adding an additional 6.93 to his account, he moved to a heat-total of 14.36 points.
Durbidge got off to a slow start and even though he began to build momentum in the later stages of the heat, his effort turned out to be too little too late. Finishing with a heat-total of 10.83 points, which comprised of a 6.10 and 4.73-point wave, the
Australian was forced to concede victory to Bourez, sending the latter into the next round.
The exciting surfing action continued at Snapper Rocks on Monday with the remaining heats of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast’s Round 3.
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