Joel Parkinson and CJ Hobgood survive Round 5 of Oakley Pro Bali – Surfing News
Australia’s Joel Parkinson and America’s CJ Hobgood successfully held their own in their respective Round 5 heats at the Oakley Pro Bali, stop no.5 on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour,
which continued at the main event venue of Keramas in Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday, June 26, 2013.
Parkinson showed off his true class during the opening heat of Round 5 to finish on top of the in-form Hawaiian surfer John John Florence and earn his place in the quarter-finals, while bringing an excellent run by his rival to
an end in the process.
Hobgood, on the other hand, removed another in-form surfer, America’s Kelly Slater, from the contention for the event title after putting on an impressive performance to claim a convincing victory over him in the second heat and
thus, moved into the quarter-finals.
The huge crowd in attendance at Keramas was entertained with a heavy dose of adrenaline pumping action, as the world’s top surfing talent took each other on in one-on-one battles for survival.
After failing to clinch victory in Round 4, Parkinson, the reigning ASP World Champion, and Florence, the ASP World Championship Tour rookie, found themselves pitted against each other, with the pressure of elimination hanging
over their heads.
While the Hawaiian surfer had exhibited superb barrel-riding prowess since arriving on the professional stage, Parkinson reminded everyone why he was last year’s no.1 surfer in the world. Locking a couple of excellent waves during
the course of the heat, he posted a couple of perfect 10s on the scoreboard to register a heat-total of 20 points, leaving everyone at the event site stunned with awe.
Florence put on a spectacular performance as well, but naturally failed to match the flawless performance of his rival. He managed to score a 9.73 and 9.47 off his best-two waves, registering a heat-total of 19.20 points and getting
eliminated after tasting defeat at the hands of his rival.
“Over the years I’ve been coming here, there have been odd moments where you get a wave like that but never the kind of frequency we had in that heat,” Parkinson said. “That was just magic. We were throwing away 9s and John (Florence)
was nearly sticking 8-foot corked out rotations. The kid can do it all and he was never one I was going to take lightly.”
The second heat saw Slater, the 11-time ASP World Champion and the current no.1 on the 2013 ASP world Championship Tour, getting eliminated from the competition after failing to hold his own against Hobgood.
The 41-year-old Floridian put on a rather uncharacteristic performance in conditions that suited his style of surfing perfectly. Scoring a 7.43 off his first business-wave and adding an additional 6.90 points to his account, he
finished with a heat-total of 14.33 points.
Hobgood, on the other hand, appeared to be in top form. Making some excellent wave selections, he posted a 9.00 and an 8.00 on the score-board to register a heat-total of 17.00 points, thus walking away with a convincing victory.
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