South American champ Silvana Lima battled a day of drizzle and 1-2 foot waves to win the Billabong Ladies Pro over old rival and fellow Brazilian Tita Tavares.
Hedging for the righthanders, which allowed her more space for manoeuvres, Silvana bagged 16.75 out of 20 points in the final, while Tita simply couldn’t find the waves. “I was opting for the rights since the beginning of the event and they came to me in the final,” said Silvana. “I am happy because I surfed well. Too bad it didn’t have good waves for us two, because Tita almost didn’t get anything.”
Despite failing to show her best surfing in the final, 4x Brazilian National Champ Tita was pleased with the result: “The sea was difficult right in the final, almost no waves came and Silvana got all the good ones that came in the final heat, deserving the victory. I wish the best for her in the WCT and I know that she has potential to be World Champ one day, like she proved today,” said Tita.
BILLABONG LADIES PRO FINAL
Silvana Lima (BRA) winner with 8,75 and 8,00 scores – $3,500 and 1,500 points
Tita Tavares (BRA) runner-up with 5,50 and 1,00 scores – $1,900 and 1,290 points
SEMIFINALS
Heat 1: Tita Tavares (BRA) 11.75 x 5.15 Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
Heat 2: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.40 x 10.50 Paige Hareb (NZL)
