Gabriel Medina down Adrian Buchan to earn title shot at ASP PRIME Nike Lowers Pro
Brazil’s Gabriel Medina made his way through into the second Semi-final of the Nike Lowers Pro, an Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME event, after claiming a comprehensive victory over Australia’s Adrian Buchan in the second Semi-final that
went down at the renowned point-break of Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California, on Saturday, May 5.
A huge crowd has shown up at the primary event site on the final day of the competition to witness the journey of one in-form surfer to victory. The surfing conditions prevailing at Lower Trestles were nothing short of great, with clean two-to-four foot
waves offering the top surfing talent from around the globe plenty of opportunities to put their stylish skills on display.
Holding their own against some of the best surfing talent, both Medina and Buchan had done exceptionally well to stay alive in the contention for the event title. There had hardly been any easy battle in the past few days and the going was bound to get only
tougher in the remaining heats.
The Brazilian and Australian surfer came across each other in the second Semi-final, looking to get the better of the other in order to secure a title shot.
As the battle got underway, the 18-year-old Medina wasted absolutely no time to assert his dominance in the heat. Locking his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the bout, the Brazilian surfer posted a perfect 10 on the score-board to jump into
the lead. He went through a series of average scores before catching his second business-wave to add an additional 9.80 points to his account, consequently moving to a two-wave total of 19.80 points.
Buchan opened his account with a 6.00-point wave and after struggling throughout the course of the heat, finished with a heat-total of 8.43 points. The weak response led to a comprehensive victory for the Brazilian surfer.
“Gabe surfed an amazing heat and obviously got the jump on me from the start,” Buchan said. “I didn’t feel like I ever really hit top gear. I feel like I surfed well in some of my other heats and didn’t catch the best waves, but I guess that’s something
I can take away from this event and to still walk away with a 3rd, I’m happy. That heat was disappointing, but you can’t let Gabe have any of those lefts.”
With his victory in the second Semi-final, Medina advanced into the Final to face Ireland’s Glenn Hall in a battle for the prestigious event title.
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