Mitchel Coleborn and Kolohe Andino enter Round 2 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro – ASP Prime Event
The crowd kept getting treated to a heavy dose of intense surfing action during the 17th and 18th heat of Billabong Azores Islands Pro’s Round of 96 (Round 1), that went down at Praia de Santa Barbara in Sao Miguel, Portugal, on Thursday,
September 29.
The 17th heat saw Australia’s Mitchel Coleborn comfortably cruise to victory and secure his place in the Round of 48 (Round 2). France’s Tim Boal finished in runner-up position and successfully made the Round 2 cut as well. Hawaii’s John John
Florence finished in third place, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
America’s Kolohe Andino walked away from the 18th heat with top honours, while Hawaii’s Kai Barger rounded out second place to advance through to the next round. Northern Spain’s Eneko Acero and Brazil’s Andre Silva finished in third and fourth
places respectively, getting removed from the contention for event title as a result.
The 24-year-old Coleborn got-off to a slow start during the 17th heat, but slowly began to build momentum. In the later stages of the three-man battle, he locked a wave to score 7.33 points off it and went on to catch another watch in the dying
minutes of the heat to unload a series of exquisite manoeuvres and add an additional 8.40 points to his account. The heat-total remained unbeatable throughout the entirety of the contest and eventually secured him the win.
Boal struggled to adjust to the challenging conditions that were prevailing at the event site. However, he still managed to collect a 6.43 and 5.40 during the 25-minute heat to reach a heat-total of 11.83 points and secure runner-up position. This consequently
allowed him to make the Round 2 cut.
Florence merely reached a heat-total of 11.53 points, which resulted in his third-place finish and hence eliminated him from the competition. Such a disappointing performance from someone who had made quite an impact at the recently concluded ASP Dream Tour
event came as a real surprise.
The next heat saw the progressive Californian-based Andino steal the show early in the four-man battle with a series of exciting stunts. Locking a wave early in the heat, he pulled-off a string of exquisite manoeuvres and collected 8.27 points for the effort.
He soon added another 7.07 points to his account to reach a heat-total of 15.34 points, which went on to seal the fate of the contest in his favour.
Barger seemed rather unthreatening during the early stages of the battle, but gradually gained confidence and found his rhythm as the heat progressed. He eventually collected a 6.43 and 7.93-point wave to successfully get his hands on the runner-up position.
The result added him to the Round 2 line-up.
Acero finished in third place with a heat-total of 12.50 points, while Silva rounded out the bottom position after finishing with a heat-total of 11.27 points. The bottom-two finishes resulted in their elimination from the competition.
For more updates on Round 1 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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