THE sight of Port Macquarie’s Matt Banting slapping at the water in the closing moments of his Rip Curl Pro heat with Kolohe Andino summed it up.
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For almost the entire half an hour heat Banting had matched it with the world number five in their third-round match-up.
Banting’s primary score of 7.17 was better than Andino’s 6.73, but it was the secondary score which cost him in the 12.43 to 12.04 defeat.
As has been the case on countless occasions already in 2016, Banting simply ran out of time.
It was a case of deja vu.
Banting needed a secondary score of 5.26 with ninety seconds remaining in the heat.
He had already picked up a 7.17 with some defined bottom turns so it seemed possible he could have picked up the secondary score required to progress to the fourth round.
But Mother Nature and the North Atlantic Ocean had other ideas.
Despite seeing a regular interval of swell throughout the heat and Banting having priority, the ocean fell silent.
The Port Macquarie product was noticeably frustrated at seeing yet another opportunity pass him by.
And they say history doesn’t repeat.
Earlier in the day Banting accounted for fellow Australian and world number nine Adrian Buchan.
Banting will now focus on the Billabong Pipe Masters from December 8-20.
