In pumping 3 to 4 foot waves the action was non-stop on Day 3 of the Reef Bali Pro at Kuta Beach today, with high scoring waves and exciting come-from-behind heat wins keeping the fans on the beach as well as the competing surfers highly entertained.
The morning’s surfing started at the crack of dawn at just after 6:30 am with Heat 5 of Round 2, and the hot-n-heavy action continued until the receding tide put a stop to the day’s surfing with the completion of Round 3 at just before 12 noon.
The highest scoring wave of the day belonged to young Ende Supriatna from West Java, who was sitting in last place in his Round 2 heat when just seconds before the final horn he dropped into a bomb that threw over him. A few seconds later it spit him out, getting him a 9.5 score from the judging panel, the heat win, and his first Round 4 man-on-man appearance tomorrow.
Dylan Amar had a similar experience in his Round 3 heat when he was up against 2009 Coca-Cola ISC champ Lee Wilson, who had a lock on first place until Amar tapped a tricky barrel to jump from last up into first with a score of 8.5 with just minutes to go
Marlon Gerber seemed doomed in his last place spot in Heat 6 of Round 3 as Wayan Susiana, Wayan Suprayitna, and Garut Widiarta were all on top of him, but luck threw one last wave to him in the final seconds of the heat and he went to work, wringing every possible point out of it, then was elated to hear it was enough to push Susiana into second himself into the top spot.
The shocker of the day was in the same heat, which saw Kuta Beach ace Garut Widiarta finishing in last place. Widiarta had broken his favorite board in an early morning warm up session and seemed unable to generate any big scoring maneuvers in his heat, quite usual for the lightning fast goofyfooter.
Currently ranked number one Dede Santoso also failed to advance, falling to Darmaputra Tonjo and Mega Semadhi in his Round 3 heat.
Tonjo, along with Gazali Hamzah, Ende Supriatna, and Wayan Susiana have the distinction of being the four remaining competitors that started off in Round 1 and have now beat the odds and earned themselves a Round 4 berth.
Tomorrow’s call is for a 6:30 am start and it is sure to be another action-packed day, with not only Indonesia’s best pro surfers blowing up out in the water but the spectators will also be treated to an Expression Session by Reef International team riders, followed later on in the evening by the premiere of the Reef movie Cancer to Capricorn at the Hard Rock Centerstage.
Following the movie premiere the party will move over to the Hard Rock Café where the candidates for the Miss Reef Bikini contest will vie for a spot in the final that will be held on Saturday after the awards presentation on Kuta Beach. Don’t miss any of it!
Photos and text: Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour
Photo Captions:
1. Ende Supriatna claiming his 9.5 barrel ride
2. Ende is all smiles after hearing his score and winning the heat
3. Marlon Gerber digging deep for points in his buzzer-beating heat win
4. Marlon with a fist pump upon hearing the score of his final wave
5. Darmayasa Tonjo dropping into a nice Halfway barrel ride
6. Agus Frimanto exits a nice barrel ride to advance into Round 4
7. Just another day on scenic Kuta Beach
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