Ramzi Boukhiam and Cory Arrambide advance to San Miguel Pro Zarautz semi-finals
Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam and America’s Cory Arrambide continued their solid form on Saturday, September 1, putting on an outstanding performance in their respective quarter-final heats to earn their place in the semi-finals at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star San Miguel Pro Zarautz at the main event site of Zarautz in Basque Country, Spain.
Boukhiam got the better of Brazil’s Jano Belo in the first quarter-final, consequently advancing through to the next stage of the competition while sending his rival packing.
The second quarter-final saw South Africa’s Shaun Joubert succumb to Arrambide after a dismal performance, which resulted in his elimination from the competition while earning the latter a spot in the semi-finals.
The final day of the ASP 6-Star event saw difficult one-to-two foot waves on offer at Zarautz, promising to put the skills and perseverance of the up-and-coming talent from around the globe to test.
The first quarter-final saw Boukhiam squaring-off with Belo in a man-on-one battle for the semi-final spot. Both the surfers had looked in great touch since the start of the competition and were bound to put on an impressive performance during their encounter.
As the battle got underway, Boukhiam got off to an impressive start, earning a 6.67 off his first business-wave. He stepped-up in the later stages of the heat and unleashed a series of exquisite manoeuvre, adding an additional 9.50 points to his account and thus finishing with a heat-total of 16.17 points.
Belo responded with a heat-total of 11.77 points, which comprised of a 6.10 and 5.67-point ride. The effort proved insufficient and thus resulted in his ejection from the competition.
The second quarter-final turned out to be a one-sided affair with Arrambide completely stealing the show with his phenomenal performance. The American surfer got off to a modest start, but raised the bar halfway through the heat with a 7.83-point ride. He soon backed it up with an outstanding 9.80-point ride, thus finishing with a heat-total of 17.63 points.
Joubert struggled to find his rhythm throughout the course of the battle and eventually had to settle for a heat-total of 7.17 points, which included a 3.17 and 4.00-point ride. The lacklustre performance resulted in his elimination from the competition.
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