OTE Semis Storylines Abound

Tuesday, February 25 (Game 1):

📍 7 p.m. - Cold Hearts vs. YNG Dreamerz (YouTube)

📍 9 p.m. - Fear of God Athletics vs. City Reapers (YouTube)

Wednesday, February 26 (Game 2):

📍 7 p.m. - Fear of God Athletics vs. City Reapers (YouTube)

Thursday, February 27 (Game 2):

📍 7 p.m. - Cold Hearts vs. YNG Dreamerz (Prime Video)

Saturday, March 1 (Game 3):

📍 5 p.m. - YNG Dreamerz vs. Cold Hearts (Prime Video)

Sunday, March 2 (Game 3):

📍 3:30 p.m. - City Reapers vs. Fear of God Athletics (YouTube)

Monday, March 3 (Game 4, if nec.):

📍 7 p.m. - YNG Dreamerz vs. Cold Hearts (YouTube)

📍 9 p.m. - City Reapers vs. Fear of God Athletics (YouTube)

Wednesday, March 5 (Game 5, if nec.):

📍 7 p.m. - Cold Hearts vs. YNG Dreamerz (YouTube)

📍 9 p.m. - Fear of God Athletics vs. City Reapers (YouTube)

The first semi-finals matchup is a classic David vs. Goliath story as the #8 Cold Hearts, who made an improbable run to even get to the semis, take on the #1 overall seed, the YNG Dreamerz, who have been the unquestionable best team in the league since the very start of the season. The Cold Hearts upset the #4 Blue Checks in dramatic fashion in the Quarterfinals, taking them down in three games to become the lowest seed ever to advance to the OTE Semi-Finals. The Dreamerz are 2-1 against the Cold Hearts this season but lost their most recent matchup at the end of the regular season in an overtime thriller ⚔️

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The YNG Dreamerz appear poised for a deep run and their first trip to the OTE Finals since 2023. The Dreamerz are led by two-time OTE MVP Eli Ellis who put together another downright historic season. Ellis led the league in scoring (32.1 PPG) and assists (6.7 APG) all while leading the Dreamerz to a record of 17-3. However, what sets this Dreamerz team apart from the one who got swept in the semi-finals last year is its depth 🏅

Isaac Ellis returned to this year's roster and elevated his play to previously unimaginable heights. Isaac took on a massive defensive role this season, matching up with the other team’s best perimeter player each night which resulted in him finishing as the runner-up for DPOY. The Dreamerz added Kohl Rosario to this year’s team and the high flyer has averaged 15.7 PPG which led him to finishing as the runner-up for OTE’s Most Underrated Player award ⭐

The Cold Hearts have been on a magical run and will need a lot more of that magic if they hope to get through the juggernaut Dreamerz. The Cold Hearts defeated the Blue Checks 97-88 in Game 3 of the Quarterfinals thanks to a massive 24 point performance from Kai Rogers. Rogers has been exceptional in these playoffs, averaging 14.0 PPG and 9.5 RPG and he has established himself as the premiere big man which will come in handy since the Dreamerz don’t play anyone taller than 6-7 in their rotation 🥶

Marcus Gillespie may be the story of the playoffs thus far as he has carried his league best 3pt% from the regular season into the postseason. In the playoffs, Gillespie is shooting a truly absurd 60% from three on just under 6.5 attempts per game which leads all players by a wide margin 👌

The second semi-finals matchup will be a battle of the superstars as #6 Fear of God Athletics take on the #2 City Reapers. The story of this matchup is the battle between OTE’s two McDonald’s All-Americans, Meleek Thomas and Shon Abaev. The City Reapers are 2-1 against FOGA this season, winning their two most recent matchups by an average of 18.5 PPG 🍔

The City Reapers had an exceptional regular season, going 14-6 and winning four of their last five games. The City Reapers have won back-to-back OTE titles and are now on the hunt for the three-peat and they will lean on their stars to get the job done. Meleek Thomas finished as the runner-up for MVP and it’s not hard to see why as he was one of just two players to finish top-ten in PPG (26.8 PPG, 2nd), RPG (8.9 RPG, 2nd) and APG (4.4 APG, 9th) 🏆

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The City Reapers have an elite defense and you can look squarely at superstar Amari Evans to see why. Evans became the first player in OTE history to win back-to-back OTE Defensive Player of the Year awards after leading the league in steals at 2.5 SPG 🗜️

Fear of God Athletics got here after playing in what was quite possibly the best game in OTE history when they downed #3 RWE 97-96 in overtime in Game 3 of the Quarterfinals. Down four in a game to five in overtime, Collin Paul put the team on his back knocking down a three before getting fouled and calmly knocking down the two game-winning free throws to advance to the semis 🪣

Shon Abaev was a man possessed in the Quarterfinals as he simply would not let Fear of God Athletics lose. In the second game of the series against RWE, Abaev had a near triple-double with 16 points, ten rebounds and eight assists while also posting four steals and four blocks. When it mattered most in Game 3, Abaev showed up again, this time scoring a game-high 36 points while dishing out nine assists 🔥

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