Macaronis, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia – Big scores, close calls, and intense action was the order of the day Friday for Day 2 of the Rip Curl Pro Mentawai 2012, as the top seeds went head-to-head and traded blows in what could only be described as the best competitive action ever seen at a Coca-Cola ISC and ASC event.
Though visibly tired at the end of a long day, Judge Wayan “Leon” Suandi couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, saying, “On a scale of 1-10 at any ISC contest I’ve ever judged, I’d have to give this one a 10+. It was like each of those Round 4 man-on-man heats was a final themselves. The boys were pulling out the stops and going so big it was a pure joy to watch. I’m calling it the best competition I’ve seen on the ISC tour, hands down.”
Highlighting the day’s action was undeniably Heat 5 of Round 4, which had Lakey Peak natural footer Oney Anwar taking on Bali goofy footer Mustofa Jeksen. The two battled it out in a 30 minute duel that had everyone cheering and hanging off the rails of the Indies Explorer, with Jeksen posting the day’s highest single wave score of 9.5 out of 10, nabbing one of the best set waves of the heat and first pulling off his patented air reverse and then finishing off with a double grab air before the wave left him on virtually dry reef.
“That was such an intense heat,” said Mustofa, back at the Macaronis Resort. “It went back and forth and we kept pushing each other the whole heat. I got that 8 and then Oney got a 9, then I got that 8.25, then he got an 8. I knew I had to do something really big so I waited for that set wave and hoped it would give me the chance I needed. When I went to make the first turn I saw the lip wasn’t really looking good so I made kind of a soft first turn, but then I got my chance and did that air reverse, then pulled off that double grab air. I was so stoked to pull that off and hear I got that 9.5. Thanks heaps to the judges!”
Oney Anwar may have been disappointed at losing the heat but he wasn’t complaining a bit. “That was such a sick heat eh? I was out there singing during the last part of the heat, I was having such a good time. I only wish there would have been one or two minutes left in the heat, because there was that set that came in after the buzzer and I know I could’ve gotten that score I needed. I was so confident there, because every time Mus got a good score and then I got a good wave I got a good score too, so I knew I just needed that one more good wave. But it’s all good…I’ll get him next time,” he said with a big grin.
The final score was Jeksen with 17.75 points (out of a possible 20), and Anwar with 17.00
The only competitor to equal Jeksen’s combined heat score was Lee Wilson in the first heat of Round 4, who launched his way into 17.75 point score by relentlessly punting giant backside air reverses until he pulled one off, meanwhile cashing in on barrels, big lip bashes, and everything in between.
Six of the 8 heats in Round 4 were goofy footers vs. natural footers, with only two natural footers getting the best of the matchups, 2010 Coca-Cola ISC Champ Putra Hermawan and veteran Pepen Hendrik.
Putra Hermawan dispelled any rumors that his backside surfing was his Achilles heel, shutting down goofy footer Uluwatu local Agus “Blacky” Setiawan by scoring 8.25 and 9 point waves by sitting patiently out the back and nabbing the biggest and best sets waves of the 30 heat.
Hendrik took down Rip Curl team mate and yesterday’s high scorer Wayan “Gobleg” Suyadnya in Heat 4, as barrels were far and few between in today’s session.
The final highlight was Garut Widiarta against Dede Suryana in Heat 6, which saw Suryana wisely taking the initiative to rack up as many waves and points as possible to get ahead of the ever-dangerous Widiarta. He was making great progress until Widiarta unleashed a series of scorching turns on one of the biggest set waves of the heat to get 9 points from the judges. Suryana returned fire to post 8.5 points, but time was running out and he ended the heat losing by just .25 of a point; 16.25 to Widiarta’s 16.50.
In the Women’s Division semifinal action it was Thailand’s Annissa Flynn winning semifinal one with Malaysia’s Brenda Lee coming in second. In semifinal two, 4 time Coca-Cola ISC champ Yasnyiar “Bonne” Gea nabbed first with Michaela Partin from the US getting second place. So it will be Flynn, Lee, Gea, and Partin, all goofy footers, meeting to decide who will come home with the big trophy and the big check.
The Men’s quarterfinal matchups heading down to the business end of the competition are as follows:
Quarterfinal 1: Lee Wilson vs. Mega Semadhi
Quarterfinal 2: Putra Hermawan vs Pepen Hendrik
Quarterfinal 3: Mustofa Jeksen vs. Made Widiarta
Quarterfinal4: Rahtu Suargita vs. Raditya Rondi
Tomorrow’s swell forecast is looking like the swell will drop slightly, then pick up again on Sunday, but Contest Director James Hendy will make the call tomorrow morning at 8 am whether to call a lay day or continue with the quarterfinals. Stay tuned!
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