John John Florence clinches last-minute success in Round 1 heat at Volcom Fiji Pro – Surfing News
Hawaii’s John John Florence advanced directly into the third round at Volcom Fiji Pro, the fourth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, after emerging triumphant in the ninth heat of Round 1 that went down at the main venue of Cloudbreak at Tavarua, Fiji, on Sunday, June 3.
Brazil’s Miguel Pupo finished in runner-up place, whereas Australia’s Kieren Perrow had to settle for a third-place finish. The failure to finish on top in the heat sent both the surfers into Round 2, where they were to surf again to try and earn their place in Round 3.
The six-to-eight foot waves breaking at the primary event site on the opening day of the latest ASP World Tour event promised plenty of action throughout the day. The best surfers from around the globe were expected to hold nothing back in the high-performance surfing conditions on hand, motivated to do well in order to improve their chances of getting their hands on the coveted ASP World Title.
The ninth heat of Round 1 pitted Florence against Pupo and Perrow in a three-man battle for the Round 3 spot. Despite being a non-elimination round, there was a strong motivation for the surfers to push hard for victory as it meant a direct place in the third round without having to go through the second round.
As the battle got underway, Florence continued his momentum from the previous stop of ASP World Champion Tour in Brazil to put on a solid performance. Locking a promising left-hander in the opening minutes of the heat, the 19-year-old Hawaiian powerhouse posted a 6.00 on the score-board. He ended up losing the lead soon after, but managed to regain it in the dying minutes of the heat through a 9.37-point ride, which took him to a decisive heat-total of 15.37 points.
“My confidence is there, but I’ve been sick the last few days,” Florence said. “I had a session the other day, so the confidence is there and it’s kind of not. I went over the falls on that one and it was a good warm up to get kind of shaken up a bit.”
Pupo enjoyed the lead for most part of the heat due to an 8.00 and 3.73 off his best-two waves. However, he was unable to hold on to it until the end and thus had to settle for a second-place finish instead.
Perrow put on a dismissal performance to finish with a heat-total of 6.33 points, which included a 2.83 and 3.50-point ride. Both Pupo and Perrow found themselves taking a trip into the second round to have another shot at the Round 3 spot.
Tags: