Fred Patacchia Jr. of O'ahu's North Shore placed second in the Billabong Pro Tahiti yesterday.

The final day of the contest was completed in 4- to 6-foot waves at Teahupoo, Tahiti.

California's Bobby Martinez edged Patacchia in the one-on-one final, 16.27-16.07.

Needing an 8.1 score to win the final in the closing seconds, Patacchia completed several maneuvers on his final wave, but came up short with a 7.9.

"I felt like I had to put it all on the line, right then and there, no matter what," said Patacchia, 24. "I got a little barrel right off the takeoff, did a pretty good snap, and then an air and a cutback ... I just barely didn't get the score, but not to take anything away from Bobby, he was surfing great the whole event.

"But if you look at the judging criteria, I did everything in the book on that wave. It could have gone either way ... but I'm satisfied with the result I had and I think the judges made a good decision."

Martinez received $30,000 for the victory, and Patacchia got $16,000.

It was the best showing for Patacchia in a World Championship Tour contest. He was the WCT Rookie of the Year last year.

In the semifinals, Patacchia upset seven-time world champion Kelly Slater of Florida.

Kaua'i surfers Danny Fuller and Bruce Irons were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

The contest was the third of 12 events on the men's 2006 WCT. Slater is still ranked No. 1 with 3,276 points. Martinez is No. 2 with 2,676.

Three-time former world champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i is ranked No. 4 with 2,064. Among the other Hawai'i surfers on the tour, Bruce Irons is No. 7, Patacchia is No. 9, Pancho Sullivan is No. 14 and Roy Powers is No. 38.

The next event is the Globe WCT Fiji, scheduled to begin May 21 at Tavarua, Fiji.

HAWAI'I JUNIORS REMAIN IN SECOND IN BRAZIL

Hawai'i is in second place entering today's final day of competition in the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships.

Yesterday's heats were run in wind-blown waves of 4 to 5 feet at Maresias Beach, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Hawai'i has four surfers remaining: Casey Brown in the boys under 18 division, Granger Larsen and Alex Smith in the boys under 16 division, and Monica Byrne-Wickey in the girls under 18 division.

Australia has a strong lead with eight surfers still in contention. Brazil, France and South Africa are right behind Hawai'i with three surfers each.

Brown and Smith did not surf yesterday because they are both undefeated in their respective divisions (each division follows a double-elimination format).

Larsen won two consolation heats in the boys under 16 division, and Byrne-Wickey also won two consolation heats in the girls under 18 division.

Surfers from the consolation bracket can still come back to win an individual title.

Hawai'i surfers eliminated yesterday were Kyle Ramey in the boys under 18 division, Bethany Hamilton and Lipoa Kahaleuahi in the girls under 18 division, and Tyler Newton in the boys under 16 division.

Hawai'i, which is recognized as its own region for the contest, is one of 27 countries/regions in the event. Hawai'i won the team title last year.