A general rule at the Banzai Pipeline is that it takes years of practice to learn how to ride the treacherous waves there.

Brazil's Paulo Barcellos is an extreme example.

After 12 years of trying, Barcellos won the IBA Pipeline Pro men's bodyboarding contest for the first time yesterday.

"Finally paid off, I guess," said Barcellos, 32. "I come to Hawai'i every year, 12 years now. I'm so happy I got it."

The contest is the first stop of the International Bodyboarding Association's 2008 world tour. It is also considered the most prestigious event on the tour because of the famous Pipeline waves.

The final day of the three-day contest was run in wave-face heights that ranged from 6 to 15 feet yesterday.

Barcellos topped a field that featured more than 150 bodyboarders from around the world.

"This is the best contest in the world," said Barcellos, who is from Rio de Janeiro. "Everybody wants to win Pipeline. So many of us from Brazil come here every year and try to win."

The Pipeline Pro started in 1982, and Barcellos is the second Brazilian to win it (Guilherme Tamega won it in 1994 and 2002).

Barcellos won the world tour championship in 2000, and he said yesterday's victory is on par with that title.

"Being world champion is the greatest thing," he said. "But to win at Pipeline is a different story. When you can win at Pipeline, everybody looks at that. My name's going to be up there forever now."

But it wasn't easy.

Kaua'i's Jeff Hubbard finished a frustrating second by 0.35.

Needing a score of 8.25 to win in the closing minutes of the 30-minute final, Hubbard caught one of the bigger waves of the day and proceeded to complete three separate aerial maneuvers.

The judges scored it a 7.9, which gave the victory to Barcellos.

"That last wave was my best wave of the heat, but it wasn't my highest score," Hubbard said. "It was three pretty big moves on a set wave, and I thought I did what I had to do to get the score I needed. But that's how it goes in competition sometimes. It's a subjective sport, and I have to deal with it."

Barcellos' two best waves received scores of 9.25 and 7.75 for a total of 17.0. Hubbard's two best waves were an 8.75 and a 7.9 for a total of 16.65.

Barcellos received his near-perfect 9.25 (out of 10) for a making it through a rare Pipeline barrel. Onshore winds were blowing during the afternoon, so the barreling waves were difficult to find.

"God sent me the waves," Barcellos said. "The final was 30 minutes, so I knew I had time to wait. I found the best barrel in the heat, so I was happy."

Hubbard, who won the Pipeline Pro last year, scored a perfect 10 in the semifinals for a long barrel ride.

"It wasn't classic Pipeline, but there still were some good waves," he said. "It was still an exciting contest."

Still, Hubbard said his scores in the final left him with more questions than answers.

"I'm going to have some sleepless nights coming up," he said. "It'll be going over and over in my head how I didn't get the score I needed."

Uri Valadao of Brazil placed third. He landed a back-flip in the final that received a score of 9.25. Hugo Pinheiro of Portugal was fourth.

Australia's Ben Player, the 2007 world champion, was eliminated in the semifinals.

Barcellos received $3,000, and Hubbard received $1,900. They are now ranked 1 and 2, respectively, on the 2008 world tour.

"I slacked off last year," said Hubbard, who was the world champion in 2006, but dropped to No. 11 last year. "I really want to give it a shot again this year. I wanted to get a win here, but second is a good start."

Among other top-seeded Hawai'i competitors, David Hubbard and Mike Stewart were upset in the eighth round.

Kaua'i's Bud Miyamoto received $500 for winning the drop-knee division.

FINAL RESULTS

1, Paulo Barcellos (Brazil), $3,000. 2, Jeff Hubbard (Hawai'i), $1,900. 3, Uri Valadao (Brazil), $1,500. 4, Hugo Pinheiro (Portugal), $1,000. 5 (tie), Ben Player (Australia) and Guilherme Tamega (Brazil), $700. 7 (tie), Louis-Pierre Costes (France) and Michael Novy (Australia), $500. 9 (tie), Darren Halse (England), Dallas Singer (Australia), Manuel Centeno (Portugal) and Andre Botha (South Africa), $400. 13 (tie), Wesley Fischer (South Africa), David Crowley (Australia), Kainoa McGee (Hawai'i) and Luis Villar (Brazil), $300.