MIGUEL PUPO LEADS THE EXHIBITIONS AT OAKLEY PRO JR AT UBATUBA

The Oakley Pro Junior was on fire this Friday as the competitors narrow it down leading into the semi-finals. In excellent one meter waves, the remaining heats of the third round were under way with Miguel Pupo of Sao Paulo raising the temperature and the pressure in the last heat of the day against Jadson André. Miguel marked up 18.5 points within ten minutes of his heat, drawing much applause from the beach. Miguel now has the best two waves of the Oakley Pro Junior Brazil up to this point.

With R$40.000 in prize money, the Oakley Pro Junior in association with the ABRASP is the first Brazilian championship and will place the top two surfers on the path to the Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge in Bali this October. The competition continues this Saturday with high expectations for the surf and the level of competition.

As in the beginning, the start and the end of the day were marked with the best performances. Alejo Muniz, who would be eliminated in the following round, started the day with the best score of the competition with a 17.16 and a 9.33 in his back pocket. The day continued on with exhibitions by Peterson Crisanto, Thiago Camarao, and Franklin Serpa laying down some beautiful turns. However the name to know on Friday was Miguelzinho. He hit the water twice. In his first heat he gave no opportunities to fellow surfer Carioca Philip Braz, beating him with a 15.50 and an 8.23. "I am very happy to have entered the competition in Ubatuba in good form", said Miguel Pupo who for the first time faced his teammate man to man.

"We always train together so we know what we are capable of. Thursday we made three heats head to head and I won the three", said Jadson laughing next to his friend.

Another duel that called attention happened between Matheus Toledo, son of the Brazilian bichampion Ricardo Teledo, and Wiggolly Dantas, both from Ubatuba. Wiggolly almost commanded the heat until the end, but with just 30 seconds left, Matheus caught a high-scoring wave, moving him into the next round.

"To win a heat of this level is important in any competition, with my family watching from the beach is very special. It's a pity that one of us had to leave the competition", said Matheus Toledo.

To conclude Friday's competition, event organizers incorporated an air show competition of two heats, rewarding Jessé Mendes first and Peterson Crisanto second, both receiving R$500 respectively.