Hizunome Bettero opens day 3 of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime with an exquisite performance
Brazilian powerhouse Hizunome Bettero was successful in qualifying for the fifth round (Round of 16) at the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola after claiming top honours in the opening heat of Round 3 (No-Loser Round of 24) that went down
at the point-break of Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Thursday, May 24.
Hawaii’s Sebastien Zietz finished in second place, while Ireland’s Glenn Hall had to settle for a third-place finish. Both the surfers were consequently relegated to the fourth round (Round of 24), getting one final chance to secure their place in the fifth
round.
The two-to-three long lefts on offer at the primary event site on day 3 of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME event seemed like an ideal stage for the world’s best surfers to put their exquisite skills on display. There was just
the right amount of juice in the waves, making the crowd anticipate a series of gripping battles and memorable performances throughout the day.
The opening heat of Round 3 pitted Bettero against Zietz and Hall in a three-man battle for the Round 5 spot. While the pressure of elimination was not hanging over the head of the surfers, the appeal of jumping straight to the fifth round without having
to surf an extra heat proved to be strong enough motivation for the surfers to push themselves hard during their latest battle.
As the heat got underway, Bettero showed off his comfort and familiarity with the waves at Itauna Beach. Using his experience to move to an ideal spot, the Brazilian surfer collected a juicy left to unload a flurry of powerful turns, earning a 7.33 for the
effort. He kept the momentum going by locking another promising wave and utilising it to post a 7.83 to his account, thus moving to a heat-total of 15.16 points. The heat-total kept him well ahead of his rivals until the end to eventually seal the fate of
the battle in his favour.
Zietz and Hall seemed to be lacking rhythm during the course of the battle, with the Hawaiian surfer only managing to get to a heat-total of 10.04 points, while the latter came to a halt at a two-wave total of 9.03 points. Both the surfers still had an opportunity
of extending their life in the event, though that meant coming up with a better result in their next heat.
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