"I was born for these moments": Arkansas signee Meleek Thomas shares his feelings following impressive game against Cold Hearts

Five-star shooting guard Meleek Thomas and the City Reapers are heading to the OTE-Pokemon Playoffs. The team wrapped up its 2024-2025 campaign on Sunday with a big 102-74 win over Cold Hearts.

The Arkansas signee had another one of his double-double performances with 34 points, 11 rebounds and two steals while leading his team to victory.

After that big win, the five-star recruit went on a post-game interview and said that he was "built" for these big games.

"I'm built for this moments, I was born for these moments, and so when I get in the moment, I never freeze up, I'm never shy. So this is what I do," he said in the post-game interview.

Meleek Thomas led all scorers and rebounders during that game for the City Reapers. Meanwhile, forward Diamat Blazi led Cold Hearts with 14 points and seven rebounds as the team's top scorer and rebounder.

Cold Hearts actually kept it very competitive in the first quarter, only trailing by two points against Meleek Thomas and crew. However, the City Reapers exploded to a big lead in the second before Cold Hearts tried to make a comeback during the third. In the end, Thomas took over, with the City Reapers dropping 37 points in the fourth against Cold Hearts' 19.

Five City Reapers players were in double figures, but it was Thomas who had a standout performance that game.

Meleek Thomas and City Reapers to take on McDonald's All-American Shon Abaev's team during the OTE-Pokemon Playoffs

City Reapers will be coming into the OTE-Pokemon Playoffs with a 14-6 win-loss record and the second seed. Their opponent in the first round will be Fear of God Athletics led by five-star McDonald's All-American Shon Abaev.

This will be seen as the battle of the All-Americans as Meleek Thomas was also selected to be in the McDonald's All-American Game.

Like Thomas, Abaev is a shooting guard who is known to be a lethal scorer. He is Overtime Elite's fourth-leading scorer this season, averaging 22.7 points, 3.7 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.

As for Meleek Thomas, he is the second-leading scorer in Overtime Elite this season, averaging 26.8 points, 4.4 assists, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. This means this will be the battle of five-star elite shooting guards who are very good scorers.

The two teams have met twice this season, with Fear of God Athletics winning one game, while the City Reapers won their second meeting. This is expected to be a high-scoring game, with both teams excelling on the offensive end, though the Reapers have the edge defensively.