Nat Young and Michel Bourez reach semi-finals at Oakley Pro Bali – Surfing news
America’s Nat Young and French Polynesia’s Michel Bourez walked away victorious from their respective quarter-final 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 site of Keramas in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday, June 27, 2013.
Young got the better of Australia’s Julian Wilson in the third quarter-final to earn his place in the semi-finals, while removing his rival from the contention for the event title in the process.
The fourth quarter-final saw Bourez claiming a convincing victory of Australia’s Mick Fanning to advance into the semi-finals, while brining the competition to a premature end for his rival.
The latest day of the event saw four-to-six foot waves grace the main event site, creating a perfect stage for some of the world’s best surfers to put their skills on display, much to the viewing pleasure of the huge crowed that was in attendance to catch
the action.
Young, an ASP World Championship Tour rookie, found himself pitted against Wilson in the third quarter-final.
As the battle got underway, the American surfer got off to an excellent start. Showing some great presence of mind and making some excellent wave selections, he posted a near-perfect 9.60 on the score-board off his first business-wave and went on to add
an additional 7.43 points to his account later in the heat, thus registering a heat-total of 17.03 points.
Wilson got off to a solid start as well, scoring an 8.00 off his first business-wave. However, he only managed to back it up with a 7.57-point ride, thus finishing with a heat-total of 15.57 points. The effort was nothing short of impressive, but it was
not good enough to get him past his rival’s score and consequently forced him to surrender victory and thus the semi-final spot.
Bourez and Fanning, the former two-time ASP World Champion, found themselves taking each other on for the last available spot in the semi-finals.
The French Polynesian surfer got himself in a favourable position in the opening minutes of the heat as he collected a 9.07 off his first business-wave. Keeping the hunt going, he found himself a 7.20-point ride, which took him to a heat-total of 16.27 points.
Fanning got off to a decent start, earning a 7.77 off his first business-wave, but collected an inadequate 4.73 off his second business-wave, thus registering a heat-total of 12.50 points. The score was not enough under the circumstances and therefore led
to his elimination from the competition.
Tags: