By: Mandi McCary
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – An electric, sold-out crowd inside of Golden 1 Center roared as veteran rider Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) climbed to the top of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB) Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic leaderboard on Saturday night with a Round 2 win.
The 33-year-old, who rides for the Arizona Ridge Riders during the PBR Team Series, was paired with Sweatlodge Testified (Silver Bridge Bucking Bulls/ Culp Bucking Bulls/ Green).
The animal athletes of the PBR again displayed their power and strength to the California crowd as Aparecido was one of only 14 riders in a 40-man field to record a qualified ride on Saturday night. His standout 89.25-point ride put the Brazilian in the No. 5 spot on the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s final rounds.
The three-day event at Golden 1 Center is the second of three majors in the 2024 UTB season where added points and payouts are on the line. The draw features 40 riders competing in Rounds 1 and 2. Every contestant who has a qualified ride in the first two rounds will then be eligible to move on to Round 3 on Sunday. The 12 bull riders with the top combined ride scores following Rounds 1, 2, and 3 will then advance to the championship round.
Aparecido moved up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3 after earning 38 Unleash The Beast points on Saturday night.
In keeping the Ridge Riders’ energy flowing, Aparecido’s teammate Luciano De Castro (Cassilandia, Brazil) captured second place in Round 2.
Castro, who battled his share of injuries during the 2023 PBR Team Series, rocketed from the chutes aboard Top Shelf (P.Ro Ranch/ OK Corralis/ Gordon/ D&H Cattle) for 87.25 points.
For his runner-up finish, the 27-year-old earned 28 Unleash The Beast points to climb two spots in the standings from No. 34 to No. 32.
Despite a buckoff on Friday night, 18-year-old rookie John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) showcased the sensational talent that landed him on the premier tour with a third-place finish in Round 2.
Climbing aboard Sky Walker (Lacey Scott/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Nancy & Susan Nunnally), the son of newly announced Florida Freedom coach Paulo Crimber was ranked No. 17 in the world.
After flying through the air aboard the muscular bovine, his 86.75-point ride earned 22 Unleash The Beast points and launched him to No. 15 in the standings.
Brazil’s Alex Cerqueira (Iguatemi, Brazil) ended his Saturday night as the No. 9 man on Sacramento’s weekend leaderboard after a Round 2 fourth place finish.
 Paired with Straight Velvet (Lance Baker), he matched the tremendous animal’s talent to make the 8.
For his 86.5- point ride, the 30-year-old Florida Freedom rider earned 20 Unleash The Beast points to move from No. 19 to No. 16 in the standings.
For the second night in a row, 2020 PBR World Finals event winner Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) rounded out the Top 5 of the round, pushing him into the No. 3 spot on the event leaderboard heading into Sunday’s Round 3.
Campbell, who was traded by the Carolina Cowboys to the Missouri Thunder on Friday afternoon, had the raucous crowd at full volume once again when he bested Gangster Time (Classic Jack Cattle/ Viducic Bucking Bulls) for 86 points.
 A standout for the Nashville Stampede during the 2023 PBR Team Series, 30-year-old Almeida rode Cherry Bomb (Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls) with ease to earn an identical score.
Campbell netted 19 Unleash The Beast points.
Campbell climbed one spot in the Unleash The Beast standings from No. 14 to No. 13.
Despite coming in sixth in Round 2, 28-year-old Australian Callum Miller (Warwick, Queensland, Australia) remained perfect after going 2-for-2 on Saturday night and now tops the event leaderboard heading into Sunday’s final rounds.
After his success on Friday night, Miller went back-to-back riding California Hearthrob (Less Than 8 Cattle Co.) for 85.75 points.
 The PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic- Unleash The Beast Major continues with Round 3 on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 1:45 p.m. PST, immediately followed by the championship round.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Click here for on-demand PBR programming.
PBR Unleash The Beast Major– PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys ClassicGolden 1 Center -Sacramento, CaliforniaEvent Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Callum Miller, 86.5-85.75-0-0-172.25-37 Points.2. Caden Bunch, 87.75-84.25-0-0-172.00-43 Points.3. Boudreaux Campbell, 85.5-86-0-0-171.50-37 Points.4. Leonardo Castro Ferreira, 87-58-0-0-145.00-22 Points.5. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-89.25-0-0-89.25-38 Points.6. Daylon Swearingen, 89-0-0-0-89.00-38 Points.7. Luciano De Castro, 0-87.25-0-0-87.25-28 Points.8. John Crimber, 0-86.75-0-0-86.75-22 Points.9. Alex Cerqueira, 0-86.5-0-0-86.50-20 Points.10. Ednélio Almeida, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-18 Points.11. Jesse Petri, 84.75-0-0-0-84.75-16 Points.12. Mason Taylor, 0-84.25-0-0-84.25-15 Points.13. Cassio Dias, 83-0-0-0-83.00-14 Points.(tie). Cort McFadden, 0-83-0-0-83.00-12 Points.(tie). Brady Oleson, 0-83-0-0-83.00-4 Points.16. Dalton Kasel, 0-82.5-0-0-82.50-9.5 Points.(tie). Dawson Branton, 0-82.5-0-0-82.50-9.5 Points.18. Alan de Souza, 82-0-0-0-82.00-13 Points.(tie). Clay Guiton, 0-82-0-0-82.00-8 Points.20. Koltin Hevalow, 81.25-0-0-0-81.25-11 Points.21. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 76-0-0-0-76.00-2 Points.Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0-0.00Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00Felipe Furlan, 0-0-0-0-0.00Vitor Losnake, 0-0-0-0-0.00Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0.00Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-0-0-0.00Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0-0.00Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0-0.00Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0-0.00Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0-0.00Marco Rizzo, 0-0-0-0-0.00Nick Tetz, 0-0-0-0-0.00Hunter Ball, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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