Groggia and Gouveia set up Brazilian battle for Ballito Pro semi-final

The sandbanks on the inside of the break made for tricky conditions during the men’s quarter-finals of the Ballito Pro, pres. by O’Neill, which got underway this morning.

There are only four athletes left in the men’s and women’s competition.

This round pitted the newly emerging Japanese storm against the fully-grown Brazilian storm, two confrontations that ended the Ballito Pro title hopes of the Land of the Rising Sun.

First on the chopping block was Keijiro Nishi who went to Edgard Groggia who brought his board over the lip and was rewarded with an excellent 9.00 late in the heat. A back-up score of 6.07 was enough to seal the deal for a total heat score of 15.07 over Nishi’s 6.37.

Hiroto Ohhara’s dream run was ended by Ian Gouveia who took out his opponent from the start. It was pretty much one-way traffic in the erratic beach break conditions that changed all day with the tide shifts and the increasing wind. However, this was the first time Gouveia had beaten Ohhara.

“He’s a tough guy to beat,” said an elated Gouveia.

A completely crazy matchup in heat three saw Nolan Rapoza convincingly defeat Hawaii’s Jackson Bunch in 14.17 over 9.70. Rapoza dominated from the start, hammering out two solid moves on a critical wave that was rewarded with an excellent 8.00 by the judges, leaving Bunch to chase down an untouchable 9.34 to advance.

Aussie grom, Winter Vincent continued his flawless run and took out Justin Becret (FRA) in the final heat of the day. Vincent’s on-point flow and board positioning combined with flawless rail surfing was rewarded with a heat total of 13.53, which was enough to take the win over Becret who only managed a heat total of 9.66.

Tomorrow’s final day promises to be a treat for surf fans who are worth taking a day off from work for. Brazilian veterans Groggia and Gouveia will compete in the first heat of the men’s semi-final, followed by young guns Rapoza and Winter in the second heat.

The action will continue with a call at 8:00 am, with a possible start at 8:30 am.