The featured matchup on the final day of the PBR Teams tour stop on Sunday afternoon turned out to be no contest.
The Florida Freedom went 5-for-5 on their eight-second bull rides inside Honda Center in Anaheim, while the Austin Gamblers failed to stay on all five of their rides, resulting in a 434.25-0 whitewash.
It marked the second-highest score total in four seasons of PBR Teams competition and the second time in franchise history the Freedom successfully completed all five rides in a game.
Florida came into the final day of the three-day event with a 14-5 record, one game behind the first-place Gamblers (15-4).
Now it’s a three-way tie atop the standings after the Arizona Ridge Riders (15-5) joined the Freedom at 3-0 for the weekend.
Florida has three wins against Austin this season.
“I’m not really much of a fan of the Austin Gamblers,” said 20-year-old John Crimber, the reigning PBR Teams MVP who was the final rider for the Freedom on Sunday. “They don’t like us too much, so you can go ahead and rename that team the Florida Gamblers because we own that team.”
The Gamblers had won seven straight entering the matchup and the Freedom had won three in a row.
Thiago Salgado went first for Florida and extended his successful ride streak to seven with an 87.50 score aboard Triton. The oldest rider in the competition, 41-year-old João Ricardo Vieira, was awarded an 83.75 after conquering Money Pit.
João Lucas Campos then earned an 87.00 on Late Night Toss before Elizmar Jeremias received a 87.25 aboard Ridin’ Dirty, who had bucked off all three previous riders in his young career.
That set the stage for Crimber, who managed to stay on top of Mo Money long enough to earn an 88.75 and clinch the perfect game for the Freedom.
Coming against the Gamblers, the defending PBR Teams champion, the accomplishment was especially rewarding for Crimber.
“Every time we go against them, they’ve got the buckles but we’ve got the trust in ourselves and know what we need to do,” Crimber said.
The Ridge Riders held on to beat the New York Mavericks, 254.50-246.75, in the last of five matchups on Sunday.
Arizona went 3-for-5 on its rides on Sunday and 11-for-15 for the weekend, tying the PBR Teams record for the most rides in a three-day event.
The Carolina Cowboys won the first game of the day against the Kansas City Outlaws.
Koltin Hevalow led off for Kansas City with a successful ride aboard Rafiki (86.00), but the next three riders for the Outlaws were bucked off.
In between, Jess Lockwood (89.00) and Clay Guiton (88.00) had successful rides for the Cowboys, forcing the final rider for Kansas City, Heitor Santos Ferreira, to need a score of 91.25 points for the win.
He only managed an 84.25 aboard Question This, however, leaving the final team score at 177-170.25.
The matchup between the Nashville Stampede and Missouri Thunder also came down to the final ride.
Gustavo Luiz da Silva of the Stampede needed at least an 89.75 on Lever Action, but he only scored an 86.75, leaving the final score 173.25-170.50.
The second rider for Nashville, Austin Richardson, appeared to get knocked out aboard Hold on Loosely when the bull bucked violently coming out of the chute and Richardson’s upper body flung forward, causing his face shield to smash against the bull’s head.
He was stretchered out of the arena, but reportedly was awake and moving his extremities.
“It’s tough,” Nashville coach Justin McBride said. “You never want to see anybody on anybody’s team get hurt. Bull riding is a dangerous game, and that’s part of it. Austin is as tough as boot leather.”