Carmelo Anthony has proven to be one of basketball's best ambassadors, and he surprised many when he watched the Overtime Elite (OTE) final between City Reapers and YNG Dreamerz on Sunday. He grabbed even more attention because he arrived with his son Kiyan Anthony in tow.
During Sunday's game, the City Reapers, led by five-star Arkansas signee and shooting guard Meleek Thomas, which is the No. 2 seed in OTE, handily defeated No. 1 seed YNG Dreamerz in game 2 of the finals. The final score was 89-79, tying the best-of-five series up 1-1.
Kiyan Anthony was seen wearing a light gray tracksuit to watch the two top OTE teams play, while his dad, Carmelo, wore a maroon Air Jordan hoodie with a green beanie and sunglasses.
Four-star South Carolina commit and point guard Eli Ellis tried to carry the YNG Dreamerz on his back, posting team-highs of 47 points, 6 rebounds, and five assists. Ellis had been impressive during the playoffs so far, but his efforts were not enough to win.
As for Meleek Thomas, the Arkansas signee led the City Reapers with 27 points, two assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Amari Evans added 20 points, three assists, and seven rebounds to help lead the City Reapers to that big victory.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday, March 14, at the On3 Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Meanwhile, Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday. Should it be needed, Game 5 is scheduled for Monday, March 7.
Kiyan Anthony leads LuHi to the Nike EYBL Scholastic Final
Meanwhile, Long Island Lutheran remains one of the best teams in the country. Though the Crusaders had a rough patch last year, Kiyan Anthony's return in January has LuHi red-hot.
The Crusaders had gone on an 18-game winning streak that ended last Saturday when they fell to Chris Cenac Jr. and the Link Academy Lions, 74-71. Kiyan Anthony had 16 points, while Kayden Mingo had 22. Their efforts were not enough though, as Long Island Lutheran failed to win the title. Link Academy now has an automatic bid to the Chipotle Nationals from April 3-5 in Fishers, Indiana.
LuHi did impressively though, turning heads as the team entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed and made it all the way to the final.