Such concentration facilitated a plodding pace, as Cifuentes stuck with his week’s tedious pattern of targeting standing timber in a bay off Spring Creek. “I just tried to block out everything that happened it’s really hard to do, but I just kept my nose down and tried to stay positive knowing I’d get a bite somewhere else,” Cifuentes said. “I knew I had a cushion, but I didn’t think it was going to take that much weight to do it.”Ĭifuentes entered the final round with slightly more than a 4-pound advantage over the red-hot Rivet, who won last week’s season opener at Lake Okeechobee.Īfter fishing fairly clean on Day 3, Cifuentes struggled with several painful losses that threatened to derail his Championship Sunday effort, including a bass he estimated at 6 to 7 pounds that came unbuttoned right at the boat late in the day. “Today was so wild you have to expect (pressure) when you have Tyler Rivet behind you. “I can’t believe this,” a visibly relieved Cifuentes said. In the final round, Cifuentes held off a serious charge by fellow rookie Kyoya Fujita of Minamitsuru, Yamanashi, Japan, who caught 19-15 on Championship Sunday and ultimately finished second with 76-6.Īlong with his first blue trophy, Cifuentes collected the top prize of $100,000. He added 20-13 on Saturday and entered Championship Sunday with a lead of 4-1 over Tyler Rivet of Raceland, La. After placing sixth on Day 1 with 19-13, Cifuentes took over the top spot with a Day 2 limit of 26-1 - the tournament’s heaviest bag.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |