ANAHEIM, Calif. – Two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme has been confident all week long even despite his Austin Gamblers beginning the PBR Team Series 2-3 through its first five games.
Leme had a good feeling the team was going to heat up very soon, and the 25-year-old knew the next stop on the Teams calendar was Anaheim, California. The Austin Gamblers star rider cannot explain what it is about the Honda Center, but things seem to always go his way when he steps foot inside the home of the Anaheim Ducks.
Leme entered this weekend’s PBR Team Series event in Anaheim, California, having won the last two times he entered the 650,000-square-foot building and on a streak of six-consecutive qualified rides.
On Friday night in the Gamblers’ 175.25-86.75 victory over the Nashville Stampede, Leme kept his good mojo rolling and extended his ride streak inside the Honda Center to seven in a row with a game-clinching ride of 89 points on Tijuana Two-Step.
“I have a lot of history in this arena, and after we lose two weekends, I use that to motivate me to come here hungry to help my team win again, and all the other riders – they are all the same way,” Leme said. “They are all the same mindset.
“Some places are just special. When I won my first event here, I got more confidence for the next one. Then I won the next one, now I’m keeping it rolling for the third one. I’m excited to see how this weekend is going to finish and I’m sure it’s going to be good for us.”
The Gamblers improve to 3-3 on the season and will head into Saturday night’s matchup against the Kansas City Outlaws (2-4, Anaheim 1-0) looking to pick up a third-consecutive win (9:45 p.m. ET RidePass on Pluto TV).
Ezekiel Mitchell got Austin on the board first on Friday night against Nashville with 86.25 points on Hell Storm.
It was an important ride for a team that has failed to give Leme much support this season. Leme is 6-for-8 for Austin, while the rest of the team is 4-for-24.
“I don’t think it’s hard being on a team with him because when his expectations are that high, our expectations have to rise, and that was just it today,” Mitchell said. “Everybody keeps talking about how Jose can’t do it on his own and they’re completely right. This is a team format, you have to play your part, so I was just happy to get the job done.”
Nashville’s only ride came from Ryan Dirteater (86.75 points on Ponotoc).
Leme credited his teammates for putting in the time to get better this week in preparation for Anaheim. The team captain hosted a practice pen session at his ranch on Tuesday, and the team continues to work out daily via a program created by team trainer Jim Bui.
Leme believes the Gamblers time to win an event weekend may finally be arriving on Saturday.
“We’ve been working so hard for days, we’ve been working every day and it’s our time now,” Leme concluded. “We work out every day, but we bucked bulls Tuesday. We were very focused.”
SATURDAY GAME SCHEDULE
Kansas City Outlaws (2-4, Anaheim 1-0) vs. Austin Gamblers (3-3, Anaheim 1-0)#
Oklahoma Freedom (2-4, Anaheim 1-0) vs. Nashville Stampede (2-4, Anaheim 0-1)#
Arizona Ridge Riders (4-2, Anaheim 0-1) vs. Ariat Texas Rattlers (1-5, Anaheim 0-1)*
Missouri Thunder (5-1, Anaheim 1-0) vs. Carolina Cowboys (3-3, Anaheim 0-1)*
*CBS Game of the Week Doubleheader (Sunday 1:30 p.m. ET)
#RidePass on Pluto TV (Saturday 9:45 p.m. ET)
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media