Defending world champion Yago Dora advanced to the New Zealand Pro semifinals at Manu Bay on Sunday after executing a historic full-rotation aerial maneuver.
The Brazilian surfer was trailing Cole Houshmand in the quarterfinals and needed a 9.50 score with just over three minutes remaining.
>>> Supah Hot Fire Knocks Out Ray J in Second Round at Brand Risk 14
Dora generated high velocity on the wave before launching a full-rotation aerial that resulted in approximately two seconds of hang time, followed by a clean landing and multiple sharp turns.
All five judges awarded the performance a perfect score of 10, placing Dora into a semifinal matchup against compatriot Italo Ferreira.
Ferreira defeated Miguel Pupo using a notable aerial maneuver of his own.
"I feel so good," said Dora. "I was just praying for an opportunity, I just needed a wave to really go for it.
The last wave when I popped up, I saw that pocket forming and I said 'OK, this is it, I'm going to throw it'.
I went all the way to the flats and I stuck it perfectly."
In another quarterfinal, Australian surfer Morgan Cibilic secured his own semifinal berth by catching a wave with only three seconds remaining.
>>> Lance Stephenson Submits Michael Beasley in 90-Second Influencer MMA Bout
Cibilic needed a 7.90 score to advance and executed five turns followed by additional minor turns on an inside corner.
The judges scored Cibilic's final wave at 8.0, granting him the victory and setting up a semifinal heat against Griffin Colapinto, who eliminated Filipe Toledo.
"Oh my God so good, nothing was going my way," said Cibilic. "I was having an absolute shocker before that, and made a fair few major errors.
It was the wave I was searching for the whole heat.
Once I stood up, the eyes rolled back and just went to work and got the job done."
In the women's division semifinals, Sawyer Lindblad narrowly defeated fellow American Alyssa Spencer by a margin of 0.03 points.
>>> Angels Beat Rangers 5-2 Behind Trout's Early Homer, Urena's Strong Start
Carissa Moore also advanced by defeating Bettylou Sakura Johnson with a score of 19.00 to 13.70, setting up the women's final and the remaining men's matches for Monday.
