Gabriel Medina and Sebastian Zietz make it into Round 3 at Oakley Pro Bali – Surfing news
Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and Hawaii’s Sebastian Zietz successfully made it through into the third round at the Oakley Pro Bali, fifth of ten stops on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming victory in their
respective Round 2 heats that went down at Keramas in Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.
Medina got the better of his fellow countryperson Willian Cardoso in the fifth heat to extend his life in the competition, while removing the latter from the contention for the event title.
Zietz, on the other hand, downed Australia’s Kieren Perrow in the sixth heat, consequently bringing his competition to a premature end while securing a place for himself in Round 3.
Failing to claim a victory on day one, a handful of surfers found themselves pushing hard in Round 2 to keep themselves from getting eliminated.
Medina and Cardoso were among the 12 surfers who had failed to impress on day 1. They consequently found themselves pitted against each other for the Round 3 spot.
As the fifth heat got underway, Medina got down to business right away and earned himself a 9.47 off his first business-wave. He went on to back it up with an 8.33-point ride, thus finishing with an intimidating heat-total of 17.80 points.
Cardoso failed to respond to his rival’s performance strong enough and ended up sitting at a heat-total of 8.77 points when the heat ended, thus getting eliminated from the competition.
The sixth heat featured a man-on-man battle between Zietz, who had barely missed out on a Round 1 win, and Perrow, a seasoned elite tour campaigner.
The Hawaiian surfer took control of the battle in the early minutes of the proceedings, earning a 9.00 off his first business-wave and soon added an additional 6.23 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 15.23 points.
Perrow responded with a couple of scores in the five-point range, which took him to a heat-total of 11.60 points. As a result, he was forced to surrender the Round 3 spot to his Hawaiian rival.
“I knew there weren’t going to be any barrels today but it’s perfect air wind,” Zietz said. “Completely different heat to yesterday, but super rippable and I’m glad I was able to get a few good ones. Being in Bali is a blast. I feel comfortable here and
I’m looking forward to more Keramas perfection.”
Zietz will once again find himself locking horns with his in-form compatriot John John Florence in Round 3.
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