Alain Riou and Jeremy Flores clinch victory in Round 3 heat at Reef Hawaiian Pro
French Polynesia’s Alain Riou and France’s Jeremy Flores advanced to Round 4 (Round of 32) at the Reef Hawaiian Pro, first of three stops on the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, after prevailing in their respective Round 3 (Round
of 64) heats that went down at the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Saturday, November 17, 2012.
America’s Nat Young finished below Riou in second place during the third heat to advance alongside the latter into the next round. Portugal’s Tiago Pires and South Africa’s Travis Logie got eliminated from the competition after finishing in third and fourth
place.
The fourth heat saw Flores claim top honours, while Hawaii’s Dege O’Connell finished behind him in second place, consequently accompanying the winner into the next round. Ireland’s Glenn Hall finished in third place, while Hawaii’s Tanner Hendrickson had
to settle for fourth place. Both the surfers were removed from the contention for the event title.
With coveted Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ranking points and a prize purse of $250,000 on offer at the latest ASP Prime event, the surfers were fully motivated to take each other on in demanding performances and deliver exquisite performances.
Finding himself pitted against Young, Pires and Logie in the third heat, Riou put on an impressive performance to claim the win.
The French Polynesian surfer got hold of a juicy wave early in the heat to post a 7.50 on the score-board and went on to back it up with a 6.10-point ride, thus finishing with a heat-total of 13.60 points.
Young finished below him in second place with a heat-total of 12.33 points, which included a 6.43 and 5.90-point ride. The score proved sufficient to take him through into the next round.
Pires finished in third place with a heat-total of 10.60 points, while Logie had to settle for fourth place after registering a heat-total of 3.53 points.
The fourth heat saw Flores walk away with a convincing victory after finishing with a decisive heat-total of 12.83 points, which included n impressive 7.83-point ride, backed by a 5.00 off his second business-wave.
O’Connell successfully secured his place in the next round through a runner-up finish, which came through a heat-total of 9.00 points, comprising of a 6.00 and 3.00-point wave.
Hall and Hendrickson finished with a heat-total of 8.53 and 8.23 points respectively, which resulted in their elimination from the competition.
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