Ramzi Boukhiam and Jano Belo move into San Miguel Pro Zarautz quarter-finals
Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam and Brazil’s Jano Belo qualified for the quarter-finals in the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star San Miguel Pro Zarautz that went down at the main event site of Zarautz in Basque Country, Spain, on Friday 31.
Boukhiam got the better of Ireland’s Glenn Hall in the first heat of Round 5 (Round of 16) to secure his place in the next stage of the event, while removing the latter from the contention for the event title.
The second heat saw France’s Joan Duru succumb to Belo, having to concede the quarter-final spot to his rival as a result.
With strong onshore winds and three-to-four foot waves on offer, the surfers in contention for the coveted event title, along with the prize mention and ASP ranking points on offer continued to push hard to clinch top honours in their respective heats. The
latest round pitted them in man-on-man battles for the first time since the start of the event, thus promising to make the proceedings even more intense.
The first heat saw Boukhiam squaring-off with Hall for the quarter-final spot. Both the surfers had been in good touch and were expected to put on an impressive performance.
As the battle got underway, Hall got off to a decent start, earning a 5.57 off his first business-wave and went on to add an additional 7.83 points to his account, thus reaching a two-wave total of 13.40 points.
Boukhiam got off to a moderate start, but eventually stepped-up to earn a 7.00 off his first business-wave. Immediately following it up with a 6.53-point ride, the Moroccan surfer finished with a heat-total of 13.53 points, which served to earn him the win.
The second heat aw Belo and Duru take each other on in a battle for survival. The 30-year-old Brazilian got down to business early in the heat, scoring a 6.67 off his first business-wave, but his rival managed to grab the lead after collecting a 4.50 and
6.50 off his best-two waves, thus reaching a heat-total of 11.00 points.
Belo needed a big score off his second business-wave and managed to collect a 7.23 off his first business-wave, thus finishing with a winning heat-total of 13.90 points.
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