diff --git a/hbrtl/sqlscan.go b/hbrtl/sqlscan.go
index cdee027..2d8e71d 100644
--- a/hbrtl/sqlscan.go
+++ b/hbrtl/sqlscan.go
@@ -138,20 +138,26 @@ func SqlScan(t *hbrt.Thread) {
 	}
 	defer func() { t.FastFieldGetter = prevFG }()
 
-	// Scan — dispatch two nearly-identical loops for devirtualization.
-	// The DBF branch is the common case; Go's compiler inlines the
-	// direct method calls, whereas the generic Area branch pays one
-	// interface dispatch per call as before.
-	if dbfArea != nil {
+	// Scan — four specialized loops. Two axes of specialization:
+	//
+	//   DBF vs generic Area: devirtualization — Go inlines method calls
+	//                        on the concrete type but pays an interface
+	//                        dispatch on every call of the generic one.
+	//
+	//   WHERE vs no-WHERE  : branch hoisting — the no-WHERE case is a
+	//                        hot full-scan path (SELECT * or similar),
+	//                        where even the predictable `whereFn != nil`
+	//                        check and the `keep` shadow variable show
+	//                        up in pprof.
+	//
+	// Four combinations = four loop copies. Painful but each row save
+	// counts when we're reaching for raw RDD parity.
+	switch {
+	case dbfArea != nil && whereFn != nil:
 		dbfArea.GoTop()
 		for !dbfArea.EOF() {
-			keep := true
-			if whereFn != nil {
-				hbrt.ExecPcodeFast(t, whereFn, nil)
-				keep = t.GetRetValue().AsBool()
-			}
-
-			if keep {
+			hbrt.ExecPcodeFast(t, whereFn, nil)
+			if t.GetRetValue().AsBool() {
 				off := len(flat)
 				end := off + nFields
 				if end > cap(flat) {
@@ -166,19 +172,32 @@ func SqlScan(t *hbrt.Thread) {
 				}
 				rows = append(rows, slab.WrapNext(row))
 			}
-
 			dbfArea.Skip(1)
 		}
-	} else {
+	case dbfArea != nil:
+		// DBF + no WHERE — tightest inner loop
+		dbfArea.GoTop()
+		for !dbfArea.EOF() {
+			off := len(flat)
+			end := off + nFields
+			if end > cap(flat) {
+				flat = append(flat, make([]hbrt.Value, nFields)...)
+			} else {
+				flat = flat[:end]
+			}
+			row := flat[off:end:end]
+			for i := 0; i < nFields; i++ {
+				v, _ := dbfArea.GetValue(fieldPos[i] - 1)
+				row[i] = v
+			}
+			rows = append(rows, slab.WrapNext(row))
+			dbfArea.Skip(1)
+		}
+	case whereFn != nil:
 		area.GoTop()
 		for !area.EOF() {
-			keep := true
-			if whereFn != nil {
-				hbrt.ExecPcodeFast(t, whereFn, nil)
-				keep = t.GetRetValue().AsBool()
-			}
-
-			if keep {
+			hbrt.ExecPcodeFast(t, whereFn, nil)
+			if t.GetRetValue().AsBool() {
 				off := len(flat)
 				end := off + nFields
 				if end > cap(flat) {
@@ -193,7 +212,24 @@ func SqlScan(t *hbrt.Thread) {
 				}
 				rows = append(rows, slab.WrapNext(row))
 			}
-
+			area.Skip(1)
+		}
+	default:
+		area.GoTop()
+		for !area.EOF() {
+			off := len(flat)
+			end := off + nFields
+			if end > cap(flat) {
+				flat = append(flat, make([]hbrt.Value, nFields)...)
+			} else {
+				flat = flat[:end]
+			}
+			row := flat[off:end:end]
+			for i := 0; i < nFields; i++ {
+				v, _ := area.GetValue(fieldPos[i] - 1)
+				row[i] = v
+			}
+			rows = append(rows, slab.WrapNext(row))
 			area.Skip(1)
 		}
 	}