ANAHEIM, Calif. – Propelled by the torrid riding of their No. 1 draft pick Jose Vitor Leme, theAustin Gamblers went an undefeated 2-0 inside the Honda Center to win the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series competition in Anaheim, California.
On Friday night, the Gamblers defeated the Nashville Stampede by one ride score, 175.25-86.75, and tonight they edged the Kansas City Outlaws, 171.50 - 171.25.
Leme, who contributed critical qualified rides both nights, is now 7-for-10 on the season and leads the league’s MVP race.
The Austin Gamblers (4-3) also overtook the Ridge Riders (4-3) for the No. 2 rank in the early 2022 PBR Team Series season standings.
The PBR Team Series will next travel to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, for the Nashville Stampede’s homestand event on Friday, August 19 at 7:45 p.m. P.T., Saturday, August 20 at 6:45 p.m. P.T. and Sunday, August 21.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer replays of all the PBR Team Series action from Anaheim. Fans can also tune in to a special doubleheader of the CBS Game of the Week on Sunday, August 14 at 1:30 pm ET (check local listings). Click here for the latest programming schedule.
Oklahoma Freedom: 87.75
Nashville Stampede: 85
Propelled by a reinvigorated Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington), the Oklahoma Freedom are heating up while the Nashville Stampede continue to look for answers after dropping Saturday’s matchup.
In a repeat pairing from Friday night, Kolbaba started the game matched up with Navajo Joe (M Rafter E Bucking Bills/T-Ray Bulls) to earn another 87.75-point score on the powerful bovine.
Nashville’s first-round draft pick, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil), was stone-faced as Buck Wild (4B Bucking Bulls) slammed the suddenly struggling Brazilan star into the dirt.
The next four animal athletes bucked just as wild. Knowing that his score could tie the game or move the Stampede to the lead, Thiago Salgado (Navira, Brazil) climbed aboard Next Strand (Young Cattle/ Jack and Dot Verbois/ D&H Cattle) with his entire team on the back of the chutes encouraging him.
His 85-point score put the Stampede 2.75 points off the lead. As the game came to a close, Freedom young gun Casey Roberts (Munford, Alabama) and Nashville’s Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil) were locked into game-defining outs. First to leave the chutes was Roberts, coming into the game 3-for-6 on the year and matched up against Bueno (Yount Bucking Bulls, LLC.).
The 20-year-old rider showed incredible effort but was dispatched in 3.7 seconds. Matched with Big Heart (Leffew Bucking Bulls), Lucas, with the chance to score a walk-off ride, clung to his opponent but hit the dirt at 5.67 seconds – confirming the Freedom's (3-4) win over the Stampede (2-5).
“These guys are like butter – they are on a roll,” said Oklahoma Freedom Head Coach Cord McCoy. “I am really excited about the team; this is our first run to go 2-0 and we are going to see if we can finish it up in the bonus round. There is a handful of really good bulls in there so we are going to see if we can get the big win”
“Right now we are about 60% of where we want to be,” said Freedom General Manger Brandon Bates. “We are dealing with the same challenges that everyone else is dealing with regarding the injuries, but we are using the tools that we have. I am going to give a couple of my stars a week off (in Nashville) to be healed up. I think that when we get to Austin we will be as powerful as there is in the league, and I expect us from that point on to go undefeated.”
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media