Owen Wright downs Travis Logie to earn Billabong Pro Tahiti title shot – 2011 ASP World Tour
The second Semi-Final of 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour’s latest stop, Billabong Pro Tahiti, went down at Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti, on Monday, August 29.
The match-up saw Australia’s Owen Wright exhibit some exceptional surfing moves to prevail over South Africa’s Travis Logie and proceed to the Finals to get a shot at the title.
The 21-year-old Wright had been nothing short of amazing during the initial rounds of the latest elite tour event. Pitted against the world’s best surfers from around the globe, he had followed one superb performance with another to gradually and steadily
make his way further into the competition. A quarter-final face-off against Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro wasn’t able to put a scratch on him either as he confidently made his way into the Semi-Final.
On the other hand, the 32-year-old Logie was on a roll as well. Entering the event as a last-minute replacement for America’s Bobby Martinez, the South African had been making the most of the opportunity so far. Several comfortable wins in the earlier rounds
and surviving a nail-biting contest against America’s in-form Brett Simpson in the quarter-final made Logie a strong contender for the event-title.
As the second Semi-Final got underway, Logie immediately clinched the upper hand by locking a wave to pull off a combination of exquisite tricks, earning 7.50 points for the effort. However, Wright wasted no time in gaining the advantage, riding a huge barrel
for a near-perfect 9.80. However, it turned out that he was far from done just yet.
With only a few minutes left on the heat-clock, the Australian locked his second business-wave to show off his skill and style, earning 9.70 points for the stunt to move to a heat-total of 19.50 points. Logie kept hunting for a necessary response, but his
effort turned out to be in vain. Earning 6.90 points off his second business-wave, he finished with a heat-total of 14.40 points, allowing Wright to clinch the win and head to the Final.
Talking to a reporter after the Semi-Final, Logie said, “It’s been an unbelievable week for me. I don’t think it has all sunk in yet. I was in Europe, I barely made it here in time, I’ve been on borrowed equipment, I’ve been banged up on the reef, I had
a re-surf with my good mate Jordy [Smith] and I’ve also scored the best result of my career. It’s all happened very fast. So yeah, I’m happy with how everything’s worked out, but would have liked to have made that Final.”
Emerging triumphant in the Semi-Final, Wright headed off to the Final to face one last obstacle that separated him from the event victory, America’s Kelly Slater.
For updates on the Final of Billabong Pro Tahiti, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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