Bourez and Florence prevail in Round 3 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal – 2011 ASP World Tour
The thrilling surfing action continued at the beach-break of Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal, on Tuesday, October 18, as Tahiti’s Michel Bourez took on Australia’s Matt Wilkinson in the 11th, while Hawaii’s John John Florence squared off with
Australia’s Owen Wright in the 12th heat of Rip Curl Pro Portugal’s Round 3.
The 11th heat saw Bourez come up with an outstanding performance to defeat Wilkinson and advance through into Round 4, bringing the competition to a premature end for the latter.
Florence created one of the biggest upsets of the day by prevailing over Wright in the 12th heat, though just barely. The victory sent him through into Round 4 while removing his opponent from the contention for the event title.
The primary event site was graced by high-performance three-to-five foot waves on Tuesday, raising expectations for an action-packed day. With the threat of elimination hanging over their head, the surfers were expected to come up with nothing short of their
best to keep themselves in contention for the event-title.
The 11th heat pitted the 25-year-old Bourez against Wilkinson in a contest for the Round 4 spot. Both the surfers had been quite impressive in the event so far, making it difficult to pick a favourite. As the battle got underway, the Australia-based
Wilkinson wasted no time in showing aggression and locking a wave to post a 7.17 on the score-board. Bourez went through a series of waves before collecting 8.17 points off it and putting his opponent under pressure.
The hunt for another competitive score went on for a while, before Wilkinson eventually added an additional 7.37 to his account and finishing with a heat-total of 14.54 points, once again moving into the lead. However, the joy was short-lived as Bourez caught
a wave in the dying minutes of the heat to give it his all and earn 8.10 points for the effort, consequently finishing with a decisive heat-total of 16.27 points. The score carried him off to victory and sent him through into Round 4.
The final heat of Round 3 turned out to be one of the biggest highlights of the day, with the 21-year-old Wright and 19-year-old Florence putting forth a mesmerising performance. Ever since moving into the ranks of elite ASP surfers, the Hawaii-based Florence
had been quite consistent in impressing the crowd and he successfully repeated the feat on Tuesday despite facing the formidable Australian force, Wright. The latter was a heavy favourite prior to the heat, but it seemed that the young Hawaiian had other plans.
As the 30-minute bout began, Florence wasted no time in making his intentions clear and locked a wave in the early minutes to unlock an array of exquisite manoeuvres, earning 9.00 points for the effort. Adding another 8.33 points to his account, the Hawaiian
finished with a heat-total of 17.33 points.
Wright was no pushover and decided to put up a fight to keep his opponent from relaxing, Getting off to a patient start, the Australian gradually built momentum to eventually make a charge. Earning 7.83 points off his first business-wave, he followed it
up with an outstanding 9.13-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 16.96 points. Despite making an impressive charge, he found himself finishing in a 0.37-point deficit, consequently conceding victory to his rival, Florence.
For updates on Round 4 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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