2 April 2010, Canggu-Bali: After blowing the takeoff on the first wave of his heat, 2009 Coca-Cola ISC Tour Champion Lee Wilson took a deep breath and then came from behind to charge into his first heat win of the 2010 Tour season.
Wilson was up against veteran Made Lapur of Uluwatu, Ketut Suarta of Sanur, and Wayan “Betet” Merta of Kuta, no easy draw to be sure, but steadily put together some combinations of the big maneuvers he is known for throughout the rest of the heat to come back to the beach with the win.
Betet busted out the biggest score of the day, an 8.0 to lead at midpoint, but then a 7.5 from Wilson pushed Betet into second, where he remained until the horn blew.
Said Wilson after the heat, “I guess I was amping a bit hard at the start of the heat, but then on my second wave I found my rhythm and things got better and better. I knew I had to go big because of who I was up against. I’m stoked that Betet got through as well, but at the same time I didn’t want him to beat me! All he needed was another big score after that 8, and if Lapur got a good wave, it would have been over for me.”
Today’s action got started at just after 8 am in smallish 2-3 foot conditions. The expected lined-up and cranking waves were not arriving with any degree of regularity, causing some slow heats, but for most of the morning there were a few good waves in each heat to keep the competitors busy. By the time the tide was nearing its peak at about 10:30, Oakley’s Brad Cunningham called a stop to the competition for the day.
“We are only into the second day and have lots of time left, so I don’t want the boys surfing in mediocre conditions. Better to let them get some freesurfing in for the remainder of the day and we’ll come back tomorrow, as the swell is predicted to pick up again,” said Cunningham.
Highlights of the morning session included young Sandi Selamet of West Java dominating his Heat 6 in Round 2. His polished turns and smart surfing got him out in front early, and he never relinquished his lead.
The real battle in the heat was between Dewa Ardika and Tia Nustawan for second place. Ardika appeared to have second spot sewn up as things had gone quiet in the ocean with about 5 minutes to go, but then Nustawan picked off a nice little wave that just nudged him into second place. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Ardika paddled furiously for a little bump on the inside but time ran out before his hands left the rails and it was over. Nustawan’s Nusa Lembongan mates on the beach erupted with screams as he paddled back to the beach, all grins and stoked to have slipped into a Round 3 berth.
The ever-stylish Marlon Gerber raced to an early lead in his Round 3 appearance, chased by the ISC’s CEO Tipi Jabrik, both surfers blasting away at the Canggu righthander with intensity. Gerber got the heat win, while Jabrik finished in second, so both surfers are safely into the man-on-man Round 4.
With the swell expected to increase tomorrow, the call is for a 7 am start. Possible the Sand Bar will see some action if the tide is a bit low, giving the goofyfooters a change from the consistent righthander.
First in the water tomorrow will be last year’s Oakley Pro winner Mustofa Jeksen taking on 2008 Coca-Cola ISC Champion Dede Suryana in Heat 3 of Round 3, as well as Wayan “Kopling” Wirtama and Ida Bagus Simarai, making it three goofy-footers against a lone regularfooter….should be a great heat to watch! See the attached Heat Draw for all the matchups.
Lee Wilson Menguasai hari ke Dua Oakley Pro 2010 di Canggu
2 April 2010, Canggu Bali: Lee Wilson telah menunjukkan kegarangan-nya diatas ombak dengan melancarkan trick aerialnya, dan menyelesaikan heat pertama nya di sirkuit 2010 ini
Lee Wilson mendapati dirinya berada di dalam satu heat dengan surfer tangguh lainnya: Ketut “Kunyit” Suarta dari Sanur, Wayan “Betet” Merta dari Kuta, dan veteran Uluwatu Made Lapur. Tapi berhasil mengubah apatisme crowd dengan menangnya Lee di heat tersebut bersama Betet
Betet berhasil membuka heat dengan score yang tinggi di hari itu: 8.0 dan Lee dengan 7.5 yang berhasil menempatkan dirinya di posisi kedua dalam heat dan bertahan hingga heat berakhir
“Saya merasa sedikit lambat pada awal heat, tapi pada ombak kedua saya mulai menemukan ritme permainan dan menjadi lebih baik lagi dari saat itu. Saya sadar bahwa saya harus main bagus, mengetahui siapa saja lawan saya di dalam heat tadi. Saya senang Betet dapat tembus ke babak berikutnya tapi di sisi lain saya juga tidak mau dia mengalahkan saya, jika saja dia dapat satu ombak lagi dengan nilai tinggi dan Made Lapur dapat ombak bagus, permainan saya pasti akan berakhir”
Aksi hari ini dimulai pukul 8 pagi dengan kondisi 2-3ft. Ombak besar yang diharapkan datang seperti kemarin ternyata tidak menampakkan tanda-tanda akan datang, dan berakibat pada heat yang berjalan agak lambat, tapi ombak tetap berdatangan dengan sedikit konsisten. Pada saat waktu menunjukkan pukul 10.30, Brad Cunningham memutuskan untuk menghentikan kontes untuk hari itu.
“Kita (kontes) baru berjalan dua hari dan masih punya banyak waktu tersedia, saya nggak mau surfer bertanding di kondisi yang biasa-biasa. Lebih baik biarkan mereka freesurfing sampai akhir hari, dan kita akan kembali lagi besok dimana sweel di prediksi akan meninggi lagi” Ujar Cunningham
Highlight di hari ini muncul dari Sandi Selamet asal Jawa Barat yang tampil mendominasi di heat 6 round 2. Dimana skill dan “smart surfing” nya menempatkan dirinya sebagai pemenang heat.
Pertarungan yang keras terjadi antara Dewa Ardika dan Tia Nustawan untuk tempat kedua. Ardika berhasil menempati posisi kedua sebellum laut berubah menjadi sepi ombak dan 5 menit waktu yang tersisa, tapi kemudian Nustawan mengambil ombak kecil yang tak disangka menempatkan dirinya di posisi kedua. Dengan 10 detik waktu tersisa, Ardika berusaha mengejar point untuk menyelamatkan posisi, tapi rupanya dewi fortuna belum berpihak padanya.
Dengan swell yang diharap akan datang dengan kondisi yang lebih tinggi besok, rencananya kontes akan dimulai pukul 7. Kemungkinan Sand bar akan menjadi ranah tanding yang baik saat pasang mulai menyurut, memberi kesempatan untuk para goofyfooter mengeksekusi frontside trick mereka
Aksi pertama besok akan datang dari adalah pemenang Oakley Pro tahun lalu; Mustofa Jeksen melawan ISC Champion 2008 Dede Suryana di round 3 heat 3, bersama dengan Wayan “Kopling” Wirtama, dan Ida Bagus Simarai, menjadikan tiga goofyfooter melawan 1 regularfooter.
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