Gabriel Villaran and Heitor Alves enter Round 3 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro – ASP Prime Event
The latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, Billabong Azores Islands Pro, continued to provide thrilling surfing action to fans with the fifth and sixth heat of Round of 48 (Round 2) on Friday, September 30, at Praia de Santa Barbara
in Sao Miguel, Portugal.
Peru’s Gabriel Villaran prevailed in the fifth heat to confirm his place in the Round of 24 (Round 3). He was accompanied by Brazil’s Jesse Mendes, who finished in runner-up place to go through to the next round. Ireland’s Glenn Hall and Brazil’s Jano Belo
got eliminated from the competition after rounding out the third and fourth positions, respectively.
The sixth heat saw Brazil’s Heitor Alves secure his place in the next round after clinching a convincing victory in the sixth heat. Brazil’s Leonardo Neves also advanced through to Round 3 after finishing in runner-up place. Northern Spain’s Hodei Collazo
and Australia’s Jayke Sharp finished in third and fourth position respectively, getting removed from contention for the event title as a result.
As the fifth heat kicked-off, the 27-year-old Villaran got down to business right away and locked a wave in the opening minutes to post a 5.67 on the score-bard. A long and desperate search allowed him to add another 6.37 points to his account, taking him
to a heat-total of 12.04 points. The score remained unbeatable until the conclusion of the heat, earning him top honours and sending him through to the next round.
Mendes had got-off to a really strong start, earning 7.50 points off his first wave, but failed to keep the momentum going and only managed to add another 4.40 points to his account. As a result, he was forced to settle for runner-up place, which was not
a total disappointment for him as he still got to make the Round 3 cut.
Hall and Belo looked pretty uncomfortable during the 30-minute surfing session and failed to gather big scores. While the Irish finished in third place with a heat-total of 10.70 points, the Brazilian finished last after scoring 8.67 points in total off
his best-two waves. The disappointing performances led to his elimination from the competition.
The sixth heat turned pretty much into a one-man show as the 29-year-old Alves locked a wave to unload a series of spectacular tricks, earning an 8.00 for the effort. He immediately followed it up with a 5.10-point wave to eventually finish with a heat-total
of 13.10 points. The score held him in the lead until the end and consequently sealed the fate of the contest in his favour.
Neves kept his name from getting added to the elimination list as well after finishing with a heat-total of 10.60 points, which carried him to a runner-up finish. This in turn gave him the ticket to advance through to the next round.
Collazo finished in third place with a heat-total of 10.33 points, while Sharp reached a heat-total of 9.94 points to finish in fourth place. Both surfers were eliminated from the competition after coming up with such weak performances.
For more updates on Round 2 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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