Hizunome Bettero continues to exude confidence on day 2 of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime
Brazil’s Hizunome Bettero comfortably booked a spot for himself in the third round (No-Loser Round of 24) of the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola following a comprehensive win in the opening heat of Round 2 (Round of 48) at the point-break
of Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Wednesday, May 23.
Accompanying him into the next round was his fellow countryperson Simao Romao, who finish in runner-up place. America’s Gabe Kling and Patrick Gudauskas found themselves eliminated from the competition following their third and fourth-place finish respectively.
The surfing action continued at Itauna Beach as the second round of the latest event on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME calendar continued to cut off heads, leaving only the most in-form surfers in contention for the event title.
The surfers, however, were motivated to perform well for more than the title as there was a huge prize purse and crucial ASP ranking points on offer. With such an opportunity available, top surfing talent from all corners of the world had flown in to Rio de
Janeiro.
The first heat of Round 2 featured Bettero, Romao, Kling and Gudauskas competing against each other to try and get a spot reserved in the next round of the competition.
As the battle got underway, it did not take Bettero very long to put his local knowledge of the surfing conditions to use effectively and get hold of two of the juiciest waves of the heat. Locking the first of those waves, the Brazilian surfer unleashed
a flurry of impressive skills, earning a 7.17 for the effort. Keeping the momentum flowing, he immediately caught another left-hander and this time dug even deeper into his bag of tricks to pull out a series of even more spectacular manoeuvres. With the second
business-wave receiving a near-perfect 9.27 from the judges, Bettero finished the heat on a heat-total of 16.44 points, a score that got him to a convincing victory.
Romao was not as impressive his compatriot during the course of the battle, but did manage to extend his life in the event by securing runner-up place through a heat-total of 12.27 points, which included a 6.67 and 5.60-point ride.
The two American surfers in the heat did not have the most memorable timing competing in their latest heat. Kling finished in third place with a heat-total of 11.90 points, while Gudauskas had to settle for a fourth-place finish due to his two-wave total
of 11.23 points.
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