Joel Parkinson defeats Tiago Pires to qualify for Billabong Rio Pro Semi-finals – Surfing News
Australia’s Joel Parkinson made his way into the Semi-finals of Billabong Rio Pro after getting the better of Portugal’s Tiago Pires in the first Quarter-final that went down at the beach-break of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday,
May 16.
The 31-year-old Australian sensation had been exhibiting a formidable form throughout the previous season to finish as 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Runner-Up place. He continued his excellent run of form in the latest season of the
elite tour as well and did not take too long to announce himself as one of the strongest contenders for the coveted ASP World Title.
Coming to Brazil for the third stop of the 2012 ASP World Tour, Parkinson found himself with an opportunity to get a lead in the World Title campaign, especially with the 11-time ASP World Champion withdrawing from the event due to ankle injury.
Doing pretty well to tame the challenging conditions prevailing at the primary event site during the initial rounds of Billabong Rio Pro, Parkinson managed to make his way into the Quarter-finals despite a few stumbles along the way. Pitted against the Australian
in the battle for the Semi-final was Pires, along surfer who had been nothing short of impressive over the last few days.
As the first Quarter-final got underway, Parkinson took a little time to adjust to the three-to-four barrels on offer while settling for a series of ordinary wave scores. Almost halfway through the heat, he locked his first business-wave to post a 6.33 on
the score-board, thus moving into the lead. He kept the charge going to add an additional 7.57 points to his account, thus further cementing his lead.
Pires got off to a modest start as well, but gradually built momentum to eventually collect a 5.60 off his first business-wave. Requiring a big score to overtake his Australian rival’s score, the Portuguese surfer gave it his all on his second business-wave,
but only managed to score a 7.00 off it, thus finishing with a heat-total of 12.60 points. As a result, he was forced to concede victory to Parkinson, consequently sending him through into the Semi-finals.
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