Dion Atkinson and Julian Wilson qualify for Quiksilver Pro Portugal 2011 quarter-finals
The third and fourth heat of Quiksilver Pro Portugal’s Round 5 went down at the beach-break of Ribeira D’Ilhas in Ericeira, Portugal, on Friday afternoon, June 17th.
Australia’s Dion Atkinson defeated his compatriot Davey Cathes in the third heat to advance to the quarter-finals, removing his rival from the title contention in the process.
Australia’s Julian Wilson comfortably prevailed over Brazil’s Caio Ibelli in the fourth heat to get his hands on the last remaining slot in the quarter-finals. Consequently, Ibelli was eliminated from the competition.
The surfing conditions at the main event site were much better than the previous three days, but the low tides and strong onshore winds still proved to be a little troublesome for some of the surfers, which exposed their lack of experience and perseverance.
As the third heat kicked off, Atkinson instantly exerted pressure on Cathels by catching a wave to score 6.27 points off it and move into the lead. While Cathels responded with a 5.07point wave almost half-way through the heat, he still failed to rid himself of the pressure that his rival had placed him under.
In the later stages of the heat, Atkinson added an additional 5.37 points to his account to finish with a two-wave total of 11.64 points, presenting his opponent with an opportunity to take the win. However, Cathes was unable to get the necessary score and only managed a 6.10 off his second wave to finish 0.47 points short of victory.
As a result, Atkinson found himself qualified for the quarter-finals, while his rival reached the end of the road.
The fourth heat featured Wilson and Ibelli in a battle for the last coveted quarter-final slot on offer. The Brazilian must have been cursing his luck to be facing such an intimidating opponent at such a crucial stage and rightly so. Wilson had been on a complete rampage over the last few days and was only found himself in the fifth round due to a minor hiccup in his Round 4 performance.
Wilson locked a wave early in the fourth heat to score 8.00 points off it and gain a convincing lead over his Brazilian rival. Ibelli responded weakly with a 4.90-point wave with 15 minutes left on the heat clock.
In the final minutes of the battle, the Australian extended his heat even further by collecting a superb score of 8.83 off his second wave to move to a final score of 16.83 points. The score sealed the fate of the heat, as even a perfect score would not have earned Ibelli victory. Scoring 3.20 points off his second wave, he finished in a 8.73-point deficit.
The disappointing performance by Ibelli brought his Quiksilver Pro Portugal title campaign to an end, while sending Wilson one step closer to the treasure.
With the conclusion of the fourth heat, the fifth round and fourth day of the competition to an end.
For updates on the Quiksilver Pro Portugal 2011 quarter-finals, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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