Sebastien Zietz and John John Florence shine during the semi-finals at Reef Hawaiian Pro
Hawaii’s Sebastien Zietz and Hawaii’s John John Florence emerged triumphant in their respective semi-final heats at the Reef Hawaiian Pro, first of three events on the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which continued at the North
Shore of Oahu in Hawaii on Saturday, November 24, 2012.
The victory served to take them through into the final, where they were to compete for the coveted prize money and ranking points on offer.
Accompany the two surfers into the final were Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia and Brazil’s Alejo, who had claim runner-up positions in the first and semi-final respectively.
The competitive conditions prevailing at Alii Beach on what was confirmed to be the final day of the competition set a solid stage for a thrilling climax. With only the in-form surfers remaining in contention for top honours, the fans knew that they were
in for an adrenaline-pumping treat.
Pitted against Patacchia, Hawaii’s Sunny Garcia and America’s Kolohe Andino during the first semi-final, Zietz was well aware of the need to put on a solid performance to have a real chance of advancing through into the final stage of the competition.
The Hawaiian surfer made use of his local knowledge of the waves to make the right selections during the course of the four-man battle. Locking his first business-wave, Zietz posted a 7.93 on the score-board and went on to back it up with a 7.50-point ride,
thus finishing with a decisive heat-total of 15.43 points.
Patacchia finished in second place with a heat-total of 15.03 points, which included a 7.53 and 7.50-point ride. The effort proved sufficient to take him through into the next round.
Garcia finished third with a heat-total of 11.36 points, while Andino registered a two-wave total of 9.07 points. Both the surfers were consequently eliminated from the competition.
The second semi-final saw Florence claim victory after getting the better of Muniz, Australia’s Bede Durbidge and his fellow countryperson Tom Whitaker.
The Hawaiian surfer put on a phenomenal show, collecting a couple of nines during the course of the battle to eventually finish the heat on a heat-total of 18.00 points.
Muniz offered a strong fight, coming real close to his Hawaiian rival after getting his hands on a 9.60 and 8.10-point ride. However, the eventual two-wave total of 17.70 just was not enough to take him all the way to the top. It was, however, enough to
put him in second place, thus taking him through into the final.
Durbidge finished in third place with a heat-total of 17.27 points, while Whitaker filled out the bottom spot after registering a heat-total of 12.17 points, which led to their elimination from the competition.
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