Patrick Gudauskas and Junior Faria advance to Round 5 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito
Starting off with a field comprising of 96 surfers from all around the globe, Mr. Price Pro Ballito had narrowed the list to top-24 surfers by Wednesday. The very next day, i.e. July 7, the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event featured these 24 surfers in fierce battles for the 12 available slots in the next round at Surfers Beach in Ballito, South Africa.
America’s Patrick Gudauskas prevailed over South Africa’s Brandon Jackson in the first heat to go through to the next round while bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival.
In the second heat, Brazil’s Junior Faria won the battle against his compatriot Wiggolly Dantas to secure a slot in the Round of 12 (Round 4) and consequently removing his rival from the contention for the event title.
Huge swells continued to grace the primary event site on the fourth day as well, along with slight offshore winds. The conditions were pretty ideal for the big-wave lovers, while others were expected to have a tough time during the heat.
During the first heat, ASP World No. 27, Gudauskas, added a 5.83 to his account from his first wave to take the lead, though the joy was short-lived as his South African rival, Jackson, responded with an excellent and seemingly decisive 8.00-point wave.
Jackson soon added 3.33 points to his score to finish with a heat-total of 11.33 points. The American surfer kept his desperate search for an adequate score going and just when it seemed that he had lost the battle, he managed to collect a 5.93 from one final wave to climb to a two-wave total of 11.76 points and take the win.
“I saw Brandon get that good one and I was cursing out the back that I’d let him get it,” Guduaskas said in an interview after the heat. “I found that barrel with five seconds remaining but I couldn’t tell what it was going to do, so I just held on and luckily I came out.”
The second heat pitted Faria against Dantas in a battle for survival. The 26-year-old Faria got himself an early advantage by scoring 6.50 points off his first wave to put his countryman under pressure. Dantas relieved some pressure by responding with a 4.43-point wave in order to narrow the gap.
Faria added another 3.50 points to his account in the later stages of the heat, moving to a heat-total of 10.00 points and leaving his rival in need of a 7.10 for victory. Dantas, however, failed to rise up to the challenge, managing to only get 2.67 points off his second wave and finishing 2.90 points short of victory.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Faria said, “I was sad because Wiggolly is a good friend of mine but this is an important event for me, probably the most important contest of my life right now so I’m happy it went my way.”
The event surely holds a lot of importance for surfers as the ASP Prime season approaches the mid-year cut.
For further updates on Round 3 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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