Trailing by nine in the first quarter, Team Elite rallied to beat Team OTE and claim the first Overtime Elite Championship 52-45 in the decisive third game of the best-of-three series.

Heading into the fourth quarter with Team Elite up by one, the teams traded baskets for much of the fourth while also buckling down and getting some key stops over the final eight minutes. One of those stops came with just under a minute to go, when Team Elite pushed the ball up to Ausar Thompson, who threw down a dunk to go up four with 45 seconds left. That was all the breathing room Team Elite needed to go on and clinch the Overtime Elite Championship.

Aus. Thompson led the way like he has all season and was named Finals MVP after averaging nearly a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds through these three games. He also averaged over four assists and two blocks per game to round out his stat line.

After trailing by nine in the first quarter, Team Elite picked up their game on offense and defense to outscore Team OTE 18-7 in the second to take the lead into halftime at 27-25.

They kept that defensive intensity up the rest of the way and Aus. Thompson started to take over in the third quarter on offense and defense. He scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half when points were hard to come by for both teams.

After finishing in third place in the regular season standings and facing adversity throughout the year, they overcame deficits two times this week with elimination on the line to claim the championship. Tonight, once they got the lead in the second it was all about defense. After allowing 18 points in the first quarter, Team Elite held Team OTE to just 27 points over the final three quarters to seal the championship.

Aus. Thompson finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. The scoring was spread around on Team Elite as every team member scored at least one point. Emmanuel Maldonado was second on the team with nine and Bryce Griggs had eight.

The biggest difference in the game came at the free-throw line with Team Elite making 12 and Team OTE making only five.

Johned Walker led Team OTE with 17 points and Amen Thompson was the other Team OTE with 13.

Every game this week through the playoffs was sold out as Overtime Elite’s inaugural season comes to a close.

Stay tuned for other events that Overtime Elite will be hosting through the spring and summer!