An exquisite performance takes Alex Ribeiro into Round 2 at Quiksilver Saquarema Prime
Brazil’s Alex Ribeiro secured his place in the second round (Round of 48) of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca Cola after claiming victory in the eighth heat of Round 1 (Round of 96) at the point-break of Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on
Tuesday, May 22.
Guadeloupe’s Charles Martin successfully extended his life in the event as well after securing runner-up position. Australia’s Davey Cathels finished third while Portugal’s Tiago Pires finished in fourth place. The bottom-two positions resulted in the elimination
of both the surfers from the competition.
The $US 250,000 prize purse and 850 coveted Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) ranking points on offer had attracted 96 top surfers from around the globe to Brazil, where the third event on the 2012 ASP Prime event calendar was taking place. The
favourable surfing conditions comprising of light winds and six-to-eight foot waves offered an ideal canvas for the surfers to deliver a series of exquisite performances, promising to keep the crowd entertained throughout the day.
The eighth heat of Round 1 pitted Ribeiro against Martin, Cathels and Pires in a battle for the Round 2 spot. All four surfers were more than capable of stealing the show on their day and thus their clash was expected to be full of fire-works.
As the showdown got underway, Ribeiro put his local knowledge of the waves to use and moved into a perfection position to get hold of a juicy left-hander. Scoring a 7.87 off the potent scoring opportunity, the local talent moved into the lead. He soon backed
it up with an exquisite 8.43-point wave to get to a heat-total of 16.30 points, which held up until the end to seal the fate of the battle in his favour.
Martin was nothing short of impressive during the course of the event. However, he eventually had to settle for runner-up place after collecting a couple of scores in the seven-point range for a heat-total of 14.90 points.
Cathels finished in third place with a heat-total of 13.84 points, which included a 6.67 and 7.17-point ride, while Pires finished fourth after putting on a rather dismissal performance for a heat-total of 10.83 points.
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