Evan Geiselman and Hodei Collazo secure victory in Round 3 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro 2011
After the conclusion of the Round of 96 (Round 2), the first round of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the Reef Hawaiian Pro, started off with the Round of 64 (Round 3) on Tuesday, November 22, at the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The first heat of Round 3 pitted
America’s Evan Geiselman against Hawaii’s Ezekiel Lau, his compatriot Kai Barger and Australia’s Josh Kerr, while the second heat saw Basque’s Hodei Collazo take on America’s Kolohe Andino, Australia’s Kai Otton and his countryman Heath Joske.
The first heat turned out to be a one-man show as Geiselman dominated the four-man battle with his superb performance and comfortably clinched top honours. Lau rounded out the runner-up position to advance through into the Round of 32 (Round 4) as well.
Kerr and Barger got eliminated from the competition after failing to get their hands on adequate heat-totals and finishing in third and fourth positions as a result.
The second heat saw Collazo clinch a convincing victory to confidently make his way into the next round. Andino secured the runner-up position to maintain his place in the competition line-up. Otton and Joske failed to make the Round 4 cut after finishing
in third and fourth positions respectively.
With clean head-high waves and strong offshore winds prevailing at the primary event site, the third round of the event got underway, pitting some of the best surfers from around the globe against in other in a battle for survival.
As the opening heat of Round 4 kicked off, Geiselman wasted no time in adjusting to the conditions and gaining control of the proceedings with a 9.00-point wave. He continued to lead the pack for most part of the heat and further cemented his lead with an
addition of 8.00 points to his account, which moved him to a winning heat-total of 17.00 points.
Lau put up a remarkable fight to reach out for victory, though his efforts eventually turned out to be in vain. He scored a couple of sevens from his last two waves to finish with a heat-total of 15.13 points. The score earned him the runner-up spot and
thus adding him to the Round 4 line-up.
One of the biggest upset of the day came when the Australian force, Kerr, failed to make a solid impact and finished in third place with a heat-total of 12.57 points, which resulted in his elimination from the event. Barger was removed from the race for
the event title after finishing in fourth place with a heat-total of 10.66 points.
As the Reef Hawaiian Pro moved to the second heat of Round 3, it was Collazo’s turn to put up a show for the entertainment of the crowd and take himself further in his campaign for the event title. He opened the heat with a 6.00-point wave and went on to
add an additional 7.33 points to his account to eventually finish with a heat-total of 13.33 points.
The young American sensation, Andino, did well to hold his hold in the tough surfing conditions and eventually collected a 5.17 and 6.10 off his top-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 11.27 points, which earned him the runner-up place and carried him
into the next round.
Otton finished third with a heat-total of 8.97 points, whereas Joske rounded out the bottom position after finishing with a heat-total of 8.84 points. Both the surfers failed to make the Round 4 cut and thus got eliminated from the competition.
For more updates on Round 3 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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