Jordy Smith, Hodei Collazo and Peterson Crisanto prevail in Round 1 heats at Mr Price Pro Ballito
South Africa’s Jordy Smith, Basque Country’s Hodei Collazo and Brazil’s Peterson Crisanto advanced through into the second round (Round of 48) at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime Mr Price Pro Ballito after emerging triumphant in their
respective Round 1 (Round of 96) respectively that went down at Willard Beach in KwaDukuza, South Africa, on Wednesday, July 4.
French Polynesia’s Alain Riou finished behind Smith in runner-up place in the 13th heat to accompany the winner into the next round of the competition. Hawaii’s Kai Barger and South Africa’s Michael February rounded out the bottom-two positions,
consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
The 14th heat saw Brazil’s Alex Ribeiro secure second-place finish, consequently moving into the next round alongside Collazo. New Zealand’s Ricardo Christie and America’s Chris Ward rounded out the third and fourth positions respectively.
The 15th heat saw Brazil’s Willian Cardoso successfully extend his life in the event after finishing in runner-up place, just behind his fellow countryperson Crisanto. France’s Romain Cloitre and Australia’s Heath Joke got eliminated from the
competition after making a bottom-two finish.
The half-metre waves on offer at the primary event site on the second day of the competition appeared demanding and were bound to make the surfers work hard for good scores.
Smith, current No.8 on the ASP World Title rankings, put on a superb performance in the 13th heat, making the right choices and pulling of impressive tricks to eventually finish with a heat-total of 13.66 points. The score held up until the end
to see him through to victory.
Riou was nothing short of impressive during the course of the battle either and successfully made it into the next round after finishing with a heat-total of 12.90 points.
Barger scored heat-total of 12.20 points to finish in third place, while February rounded out the bottom-position with a heat-total of 10.50 points.
The 14th heat saw Collazo secured a convincing victory in the 14th heat, managing to get to a heat-total of 14.33 points that kept him well ahead of his rivals.
Ribeiro successfully made the Round 2 cut as well after finishing with a heat-total of 10.90 points, which served to put him in runner-up place.
Christie and Ward finished with a heat-total of 8.56 and 8.16 respectively, consequently making a premature exit from the competition.
The 15th heat saw the Brazilian surfing prodigy Crisanto post the day’s highest wave-score of 9.00 after pulling off a front-side aerial rotation. He later backed it up with a 7.27-point ride to finish with a heat-total of 16.27 points, which
earned him a comprehensive victory over his competitors.
“Conditions were not that good but I found two nice waves and was able to complete a few manoeuvres and I’m happy with my result,” a humble Crisanto said. “This is my first year in Ballito but I love South Africa, the people are very nice and the wave is
amazing. It’s just like my local break so I feel very at home.”
Cardoso confirmed his spot in the next round as well after finishing with a heat-total of 12.07 points, whereas Cloitre and Joske finished with a heat-total of 9.87 and 7.00 points respectively.
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