Tiago Pires downs Owen Wright to advance into Round 4 of Billabong Rio Pro
Portugal’s Tiago Pires got the better of Australia’s Owen Wright in the first heat of Billabong Rio Pro’s Round 3 that went down at the primary event site of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday, May 4.
With the outcome of the battle coming out in his favour, Pires made his way through into the fourth round of the third of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title Series. Wright, on the other hand, found himself ejected
from the contention for the event title.
“Adam Melling must have been surfing another break out there,” Pires said. “You get out there with the psych and I could not find the waves. There were lots of close outs and it was just really tough. I’m stoked to make it through though, it’s my first time
advancing to Round 4 this year.”
Resuming the event after four days of rest, the event organisers had hoped to see the arrival of juicy waves at the primary event site. However, they had to face disappointment as the day saw stormy surfing conditions with four-to-six foot barrels prevailing
at Barra da Tijuca. However, the decision was taken to keep the action going regardless of the challenging conditions.
The first heat of Round 3 saw Pires and Wright take each other on in a man-on-man battle for the Round 4. The Portuguese surfer had struggled to find his rhythm during his Round 1 bout, but bounced backed strongly in Round 2 to reach the third round. Wright,
on the other hand, had been in a formidable form and was expect to give a tough fight to Pires during their Round 3 clash.
As the first heat of Round 3 got underway, the 22-year-old Wright drew first blood with a 4.17-point ride to grab an early lead. However, he soon lost it to Pires as the latter unloaded a series of quick turns on his first business-wave halfway through the
heat to post a 5.17 on the score-board.
As the heat progressed, Wright only managed to add an additional 2.23 points to his account to reach a heat-total of 6.40 points. Pires managed to score a 5.23 off his second business-wave in the dying minutes of the heat, consequently finishing with a decisive
heat-total of 10.40 points.
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