Team OTE showed why they were the regular season champions handling Team Elite 72-51 in game one of the Overtime Elite Championship.

Kok Yat scored 17 in his second game back to lead them to the 1-0 lead in the best of three series for the championship.

After an intense game last night, Team Elite hung around in the first half using a late 6-0 surge to stay within striking distance only trailing 33-28 at half. With time running out, Amen Thompson threw down a dunk just before the buzzer that setup a huge second half for Team OTE.

Coming out of the locker room, Team OTE stepped up their intensity and outscored Team Elite 20-11 to give themselves a comfortable lead going into the fourth. They didn’t mess around pushing their lead out to 20 and eventually winning by 21.

Yat wasn’t the only one hot on the night as TJ Clark led the team in scoring with 18 points. Johned Walker matched Yat with 17 points of his own, while Amen Thompson finished with nine points, six assists, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

On the other side, Ausar Thompson led the way with 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocks. In the two games this week, Thompson has nine blocks.

Bryson Warren was the other player in double figures for Team Elite with 10 points.

The two teams will now get a day off to prepare for the second game on Friday, March 11. Tip is at 7 p.m. If Team OTE wins, they will hoist the first Overtime Elite trophy.