01x04 - The Check Writers are Here

[bunniefuu]

[Somto] I don't like these trade rumors

and stuff. I don't like it.

[Somto] I don't think anybody's

gonna be here today.

Nobody's here.

[Somto] Hold on, hold on,

hold on, right here.

Know what I'm saying, man,

with trade rumors and everything

I don't wanna leave my team.

[Wilkins] I know a lot of you guys

have been hearing the conversations

around roster moves and all that stuff.

I just wanna say this,

I think you have been,

by far, the best big

that we have in this league.

Any roster moves that we've made,

have been solely about to help our balance

and to help us be more competitive.

Like right now you're on a team

with two top five draft picks,

and quite frankly, that team

is just almost too damn good,

and I think you have

a whole lot to do with that.

So this is your new team.

Cold Hearts has had

the most unavailable players

and we needed to make that team better.

You have any thoughts?

You can be honest.

City Reapers, those guys been my teammates

like from day one, so,

I mean, we have our ups

and we have our downs,

but I feel like they're my brothers.

I'm excited to see what it looks like

moving forward.

Thank you.

What the heck?

Like what the f*ck?

Like, what am I supposed to do with them?

Am I like, I'm not Jesus,

I'm not going over there to save them.

This why I don't like sh*t like this, man.

They got guys that don't pass the ball,

they play solo basketball.

Hello? Hey, Ma.

Damien just called me right now,

we went into his office

and uh, he told me I got traded

to the Cold Hearts.

Let's say I'm doing like really bad,

I'd be like, "Okay, that's my fault."

Why would I get traded

because he says, "You're the most

dominant person in the league,"

Like, how am I gonna get traded

because I'm good?

[Wilkins] It's getting warm.

Spring Break coming up, man.

Feel like Florida.

You know what else coming up?

The playoffs!

You gonna just skip over that?

[Leitao] The end of the season is near,

positioning you know playoffs,

everybody's starting to talk about it.

[Wilkins] I don't think nobody wanna play

the Cold Hearts to get to the finals.

- [staff member] Healthy.

- [Wilkins] Yeah.

In the playoffs we gotta prepare

for everybody,

you don't know who's gonna win,

so, it's definitely a different feeling.

[Leitao] Cold Hearts are a dangerous crew.

What's wrong with you, man,

I lift weights too, man,

I lift weights too, Somto.

Stop it, stop it.

They've got some individual talent

that I'd like to have on my team.

[Wilkins] There's something wrong

with that dude, man.

And maybe the playoffs is that point

in time where they come together

and they realize they can be

the best team in the league.

[Gomes] So listen, the game will

be here before you know it.

And all the sh*t we went through

in the regular season,

there ain't nobody feeling sorry

for anything.

[Frazier] Cold Hearts. I'm more worried

about them than the YNG Dreamerz,

just because Bryce Griggs alone

and you got to guard, Rob Dillingham,

[chuckling] then you've got Somto

who's probably pissed that we traded him.

The game is gonna be played and somebody's

gonna win the finals, why not it be us.

We gotta be ready for the game,

we can't get ready at the game.

Game one is the most important game.

[Frazier] To do it under the lights

where NBA scouts are thick and heavy

[Cold Hearts] One, two, three. Work!

Work, work, work.

[Frazier] like the check writers

are really here.

A lot of it is trusting the work,

trusting the process,

and then doing it under pressure.

[Gomes] Set it, snake it, snake it,

wait, get out, lob, finish.

Here we go, same thing coming back,

We're fun, energetic, in-your-face

type of team

If they're gonna beat us, they're gonna be

something different.

Not the same sh*t

they beat us with last time.

Physicality at the rim

There we go. There we go. There we go.

Ah! Come on.

Ball pressure on the perimeter,

and I try to tell our guys to be free

and use your imagination.

Because in basketball,

you can't script everything.

Push yourself, over doing your reps.

I always just try to play loose,

play free.

Turn, turn. Boom, shot.

One, two. Nice. Nice.

All the little small things that

can give us the best chance of winning.

You good, you good, you good.

One, two. Bang!

[Wilkins] We had to suspend Jahki

for some behavior issues.

You're not f*cking open!

Pass the f*cking ball, bro!

Bro, I come late to anything,

I don't f*cking play.

That's just very sh*t, bro.

Pick your f*cking head up, bro! Bro, come

on bro!

[Wilkins] That was a tough decision

for us to make as a staff,

but we felt like

it was in the best interest

of both he and our culture here,

to just kind of remove him from it

for a while.

[Jahki] Oh, it's a horrible feeling.

It's a lot of different emotions,

there's a lot of stuff built up inside.

It's very difficult just, you know,

for me to figure out, like,

you know, what's my role again,

you know, just figuring all that out.

[Alisha H] His love for the game

is so strong,

it's something I've never ever seen, like,

he doesn't really have much emotion,

I've never seen him cry as a kid,

he's never been a crybaby,

he's never done that,

but when it comes to the game of

basketball, he takes it very serious.

[Wilkins] Jahki is part of the group

of guys that need a little push.

Us as a staff, we're responsible

for meeting him where he is,

and help him grow out of, you know, things

that he's struggled with.

It takes a village.

- It's time for- you need a haircut.

- [Alisha H] Let's go.

You gotta, you gotta get your hair cut

this week.

Got a haircut tomorrow?

All right, you need a haircut my boy.

I tried to get him to get his hair cut,

but he ain't wanna cut his hair.

[kid grunting]

[Jahki] I love spoiling my little brothers

and making sure that they don't have

to worry about anything.

[Alisha H]

He's more of a provider type big brother

instead of a babysitting type

of big brother.

Jahki thinks he can

just buy them the world.

[Wilkins] People don't understand,

he's still just a kid,

taking care of adults,

making more financially

than people in their family

has probably ever made.

That's a huge responsibility

to put on a young man.

It's probably the kids coming over

to ask for Jahki, let me just check.

[Alisha H] Hi.

- Mind if I come in?

- [Alisha H] Yeah, you can come in.

Would you like for me

to take off my shoes?

[Alisha H] No, it's okay, honey.

He was asking

He goes to Norcross High School.

You can come in, honey.

- You gonna play basketball?

- Yeah.

Been watching you, Trey, OTE,

you definitely inspire me man, a lot.

[Jahki] I got you.

Oh, your mom actually gave me one of your

shoes, I still, like I be hooping in it.

[Alisha H]

Yep, I gave him a pair of your shoes.

Those ones. I actually got those

for Norcross, I remember that.

These, these are hard.

- What size you wear?

- [Rashawn] I'm size 14.

I got another pair for you, hold up.

- [Rashawn] For real?

- [Jahki] Yeah, I got you.

I remember I was hooping, and I seen him

hoop over there one time, and I was like

Ohhh And that's when I

really started watching him more

and seeing how expl*sive

and, like, that bounce.

[dramatic music throughout]

[Jahki]

My desire to be back, I don't know,

I just have a special bond with

a lot of guys on the team, you know?

I've learnt that, like,

the more you're gone from the game,

the more you want the game.

It's not the same, you're not playing,

you're not with your teammates,

you're not practicing every day,

you're just working out.

Like, damn, I'm ready

to get back on the court.

[trainer] Chest up, chest up.

Like you're trying to pick your chest up

off of the bench, there you go.

[exhaling]

[trainer] Keep benching them up.

[Wilkins] Man, those little a*s weights.

[laughter]

- We can make some adjustments for you.

- [Bryce] Appreciate it.

[trainer]

I'm just glad you're not 180 anymore.

[Wilkins] He was 180?

- [Bryce] I was never 180.

- [Davis] Yeah, you were.

- [Wilkins] Bro, it's okay.

- [Davis] Too damn light.

You a little dude, you a little dude!

- [Bryce] I'm 195.

- [Davis] Yeah, now.

- You back to where you're supposed to be.

- [laughter]

195 boy!

Bryce Griggs is one of our guys

who went the pro route,

giving up his college eligibility.

He had a tough first year.

Bryce in year one was a rebel,

just doing his own thing, often times

late, to everything,

or not showing up.

Just breaking all the rules, right?

[Davis] You gotta at least make it look

like you're strong,

there you go, that's easy work.

[Wilkins] You know you're put in

a lot of money in his pocket,

you know, and a social media star

that's tough for any kid to handle

when you're not ready for it.

[Wilkins] What would you say is your like

biggest regret?

I would say I really messed up last year,

like just umm

- like, with the off-the-court stuff.

- Yeah.

But now since I fixed that,

I feel like it helped me today.

[Wilkins]

To his credit, came back his year two

and has been a totally different person,

super focused, body has changed,

and with that you can tell

his whole mindset is different.

And it shows out there on the court,

he's just proving

that he can make big shots,

can make big plays

when the game is on the line.

How he was able to deal with adversity,

how he was able to self-correct.

I think if he continues to do that

the NBA isn't um, something

that's out of reach for him.

If there's anyone that I can believe

betting on themselves, it's him.

But he's out right now going

through some injury stuff.

- [Wilkins] How is that?

- [Bryce] It's getting better.

- [Wilkins] Right one?

- Yeah, it's the right one. It's a little

- Gotta stop using that guy so much, so

- [laughter]

[Bryce] I hurt my wrist, you know,

I've been out for a whole month.

Yeah, it's been kind of weird.

I'm thinking I can hoop

and I'm trying to lay the ball up

and I'm still fumbling the ball.

I was in tip-top shape ready to roll,

like coming off a triple-double game,

all that hard work, whole season

it's like a whole month of just watching.

[Wilkins] Every game matters,

every game counts for him,

and you know every game that he's out,

it's a detriment not only to him,

but it's also to his team

because they need him.

He's their best playmaker.

Rotate, Tyler! Box out! I see you, Tes!

Go box out, Tes!

[Bryce] The team ended up losing

a lot of games.

I feel like I definitely could have helped

because they needed little leadership.

[Wilkins] You know,

they say he's improving every day,

you know,

we just have to wait and see.

[Bryce] My whole goal,

to come back stronger.

I need a big show-up in the playoffs.

I wanna leave my best impression

for the NBA scouts.

[Jasmin] Okay, this is gonna be

very uncomfortable, suck it up.

Ready? Deep breath in.

Hold on, hold on.

[Jasmin] All the way out.

[man yelling]

Oh, sh*t! Oh, what the f*ck, oh, my God!

[Wilkins] Somto, he's like a big kid,

always joking and playing around.

Nothing, oh, sh*t, Jesus.

I feel like she just know how to hurt me.

Oh, my f*cking God. She's just smiling.

[Somto screaming]

[Wilkins] He has a great personality

off the court,

on the court, he's an animal, man.

[audience cheering]

He's blessed, like he's 6'11",

he jumps higher than everybody.

He blocks every shot, dunks everything.

He's just hooping.

[Wilkins] The things that he does

with his size, athleticism.

- Defense, his effort

- [announcer 1] Two handed block!

[Wilkins] just a dominating, fearless

guy.

[cheering]

There's quite a few Division I schools

that are interested in Somto.

I don't know if he knows yet,

or understands how good he is.

And, you know, I'm waiting

on that light bulb to go off in his head.

I feel like I'm so strong

but she make me feel weak.

Don't, don't feel yourself. [screams]

[Wilkins] Because he's a jump hook away

from being in the league.

Like, he's that good. I can't wait to see

what the finished product is.

[pained laughing] Oh, dude.

[Somto] What's up. man, you ready?

Coach Cam already text me saying,

"Where you at?"

- He texted your brother?

- [Somto] Yes.

[Stephen] Wait. Where's my phone? Lemme

check that out.

[Somto] He don't know where he drop his

phone?

[Lisa W] When Somto moved in with us,

he was actually my first Nigerian student.

He's a gentle giant,

he'll k*ll me for saying this,

but he's my big baby, he would k*ll me,

like k*ll me, when he hears me say this.

Oh, that's my son, that's my first son.

Before I gave birth to the twins,

the Thompson twins, he was my first son.

[Lisa W] He's very much the big brother.

He was my first, first victim, I put him

on the poster.

Even the big brother

that drives you crazy.

[laughs] Wow.

[Stephen] Since I was born, we've always

had, like, additional kids in the house,

like, my mom's house in the neighborhood

is "The House."

We've said that she has a Nigerian embassy

in her home,

because she had,

you know three Nigerian boys in her house.

[Somto] We're going to see my strength

and conditioning coach here,

when I was in my high school,

my old school so

I told him I would be in town,

and he said he wanted me to come in there

and put in some work

so right now we're headed down there.

Back in Nigeria like,

I was like 12, 13 years old.

Basketball, basically, became my life.

I did that like every day.

I grew up around people I didn't want

to turn out to be when I grew up.

I wanted a better life

for my mom, myself, yeah.

I I had to do what I had to do.

Coach Cam, he been on my behind

since I got here, never let me slack.

- [laughter]

- [Coach Cam] You messed it up.

This is where it all started,

like all the workouts and everything.

[Coach Cam] Here we go.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,

eight, nine, ten.

[rope tapping]

[chain clinking]

Yeah, it's been a minute, dog.

Hop it, go. Relax.

[Somto] I left home

because, yeah, my mom, a single mom,

and she don't have enough money and stuff.

I had to like, I stayed with strangers,

she did her best to support me from home.

I'm not gonna sit there and be like

"Ah, it was fine," no, it was pretty tough

cause I'd go without eating like for days.

We all stayed in this building like

[vehicles honking]

I don't know how I did it, I don't know

how I survived, but I just did it.

I think I have a picture of the house.

[chuckles]

Yeah, it was a

It's just like a place you stay

when you don't have any other option.

I spent like months over there.

Probably a year.

I didn't really, really feel comfortable

going to sleep in a place like that,

so I Yeah, some days I'd stay up late.

3 AM, sometimes 4 AM

before I'd go to sleep, like, then I'd

have to wake up late to play basketball.

[speaking foreign language]

I sit down to myself when I think,

I didn't even know I would make it

this far, so yeah.

I

Yeah.

[heavy sigh]

[Stephen] Me and Somto connected

probably in June of 2020.

He's been wanting to get over here

for a very long time,

he's just been denied entry to America

through the embassy.

Finally, he had called me

at 4:00 one morning,

he was like, "I got bad news for you,"

and I'm like, "What's the bad news?"

He was like, "I'm coming to America!"

[laughter]

[Somto] We here at the football game.

He got me out here, I never go out

but he always take me out,

he say, "Let's go, bro."

I'm a homebody, I don't really like

to go out I just like to chill,

I enjoy my own company

so I don't really go out.

[Lisa W] When Somto first got here,

he was very reserved,

and not very trusting of people,

it's a very new culture for him.

He came here not knowing anyone.

- [man] How's OTE?

- Good.

- How you know I'm at OTE?

- [man] Bro, you're famous.

Oh, okay.

You wanna picture though?

[Lisa W] We knew that,

possibly, this was an avenue

to make life better for himself

and his mom.

He's just like so grateful, to be able

to come to America number one,

and to just meet the people that he's met

and had the opportunities that he's had.

[laughing, humming]

He's talking like

[Lisa W] I think that Somto

is a very determined young man.

That determination is gonna take him far.

- [Bryce] Hey.

- [Bryce's Mom] Hey, Bryce.

Hey, Mom.

- [Bryce's Mom] What's up?

-Not much.

[Bryce's Mom] So how are you dealing

with your wrist injury?

It's fine, just doing treatment right now,

and I'm still conditioning

to stay in shape.

[Bryce's Mom] Well, I know that you're

anxious to get back on the court,

but, you know, do what you're supposed

to do and just stay focused.

You know, just remember

what your dad always told you,

that it's gonna be greater later,

you know?

Oh, my God.

[Bryce's Mom]

Okay, so don't talk about that.

No.

[Bryce's Mom] Bryce, I'm try Okay.

[Bryce] You know, my dad was a coach, so

that's how I really got into basketball.

He built that toughness.

He's not here no more,

he passed away from cancer so,

he passed like my 8th grade year.

He didn't ever come

to my high school game. It's sad bro.

I don't even like to remember it. But I

feel like all those games he was with me.

I dominated high school. Every year.

Let's go! I told them I'm gonna f*ck you

up!

Me dominating all those years,

like, that's what got me to go to OTE.

- [announcer 1] Three. Deep three.

- [announcer 2] Bryce!

[announcer 1] Oh, my goodness! Oh, my

goodness! Wow, buzzer-beater!

[Bryce's Mom] This too shall pass,

you know, you've faced many adversities,

you've held your head up

and you've worked through all of that,

so just know that,

you'll be back on the court soon.

[Bryce] My dad passed, you know,

I could a gave up,

I could a quit, you know,

but why would I do that?

I feel like that's my mindset

in any challenge.

I wanna be in the NBA bad, just

and I won't stop until like it's done.

- [Bryce's Mom] I love you, Bryce.

- All right, love you too.

- [Bryce's Mom] All right, take care.

- All right.

[Bryce's Mom] Love you, bye.

[buzzer buzzes]

JGort, JGort!

- [man] Hey, hey, hey!

- [JGort] Hey, let me sh**t out.

[Somto] Get the f*ck outta here boy!

[laughter]

Somto, forget him, forget him,

we ain't worried about them,

we ain't worried about them.

Heads up, heads up, heads up.

[Gomes] Playoff basketball,

it jumps up another 15, 20 percent.

Bryce, yours worth two. Bryce, yours

worth two. Bryce.

All six of our teams

being in one building,

all the guys sh**ting on the basket.

- f*ck!

- Guard him! Guard him! Guard him!

- Go, Alex! Go, Alex! More! More!

- [crowd whooping]

This time it's for the money.

Knock down, it's last chance.

Your physicality, your mental sharpness,

all the things you do

throughout the season

kind a comes to fruition at this moment,

because it's the highest level.

I see you, Somto. Work on your dribble

hand though. Good hit.

Rob Dillingham, was lights out from the

perimeter.

Somto, he loves to be in the paint.

Then we had a dynamic leader

in Bryce Griggs, back from injury.

[Bryce] Is my wrist going work tomorrow?

I'm playing through it,

I ain't coming out the game with all

them scouts in the stands, like

What I need is to go hoop

and show toughness,

cause you know they love, like,

guys who compete.

Hey! Hey! Hey!

I always just try to stay positive,

you know, that was very hard, you know,

because you know I hate losing.

Oh, my God!

You know I told the other guys,

just like stay together

and you know everything will be fine

if we stay together.

[Bryce] You know,

we gotta work with what we got.

Let's go, we gonna get this win.

[Somto] It's just another game

with a title on it,

like, you just call it playoff basketball

but it gets intense a little bit,

because there's a lot on the line to lose.

- Get back, get back, get back, Somto!

- [Somto] Ahh!

- [woman] Boom!

- [Byrce] Boom!

[Bryce] Feel like we had a good practice,

it's like we locked in the details

and we had fun so, that's the most

important thing about it, we had fun.

Come on. Hike! Hike! Hike!

Throw the ball under your legs.

- Football. Football.

- Through my legs? Oh, yeah.

[Bryce]

Feeling great emotionally, physically.

And we got some extra shots up

after practice, my shot feels good,

my guys, we're ready to roll.

[announcer 1]

Game one of the OTE semifinals,

from OTE Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

[Somto] Of course I love

the Thompson twins,

but the moment you put

on a different jersey

and I have a different jersey,

I am coming at you.

[Bryce] It's very important.

It's full of NBA scouts.

Oh, yeah, they in the building tonight.

[announcer 1] This place is up,

this place is loud and here we go.

So this is the fourth meeting

between both these teams

but really the first with a healthy

Cold Hearts squad

as Bryce Griggs misses the lay-up there.

That's Amen Thompson, and Nate Missia-Dio

with authority.

[Nate] I'm strong.

[announcer 1] That's Bryce Griggs going

on the other way with speed.

[announcer 2] Yeah. Oh, my

[announcer 1]

With the dish and the finish!

[announcer 1] And the honey dip, Somto

Cyril!

[announcer 2] I'm telling you

he's the game changer for this team, man.

[Gomes] It's alright, we got it. Hey. Hey!

[announcer 1] Throws it up!

And throws it down.

The twin telepathy.

[announcer 1] Bryce has no points,

Cold Hearts looking for their second

score, I need Bryce to sh**t that.

[crowd jeering]

[announcer 2] It seem like the Reapers

got like defensive answers

for everything the Cold Hearts

Take it out!

[announcer 1] Bryce Griggs!

[announcer 1]

They gotta hit their shots, they should

[announcer 2] Yeah, yeah,

they just gotta hit their shot.

- [announcer 1] Yeah.

-Yeah, yeah, it's they shots.

[announcer 1] Reapers going the other way.

Beautiful feed and a beautiful finish

from Trey Parker.

Here we go.

[announcer 2] It won't be

a step back three, don't get me wrong.

Somebody from the Cold Hearts needs

to hit this three

- to get the momentum going.

- [announcer 1] Trey.

Throws it away. Three seconds left.

Rob going the other way, gets it off!

Connects!

- Gracious!

- [announcer 2] Rob Dillingham!

That's who we needed! Right now!

Wow, it was a tough bucket.

[Gomes] Hey, one thing I gotta say, man,

keep finishing, keep finishing,

they're scared.

We good, we good. We're good.

[Bryce] Energy on three, coach!

- One, two, three, energy!

- [all] Energy.

- [Gomes] Here we go.

- [Rob] Let's go, let's go.

[Bryce] Keep, keep dunking, yeah.

[announcer 1]

Cold Hearts going the other way.

[announcer 1] Somto!

[hip hop music playing throughout]

[Bryce] Hey, ref, you like that, huh?

Yeah, I know! I know you like that!

[crowd yelling]

[announcer 1] Cold Hearts playing a little

more of their half court game.

Rejected.

Bryce Griggs.

[announcer 2] I see Amen

maybe getting a little frustrated.

Oh man, he's got the ball on a string.

[announcer 2] Oh, Johned.

[announcer 1] Johned, oh man. That's just,

that's just fundamentals.

- [announcer 1] Cold Hearts storm back,

- [Somto] Let's f*cking go!

storm back and take the lead, a one point

game heading into halftime.

Cold Hearts hasn't really been healthy the

whole year, they have a lot of talent,

but they really haven't had the time

to gel until the playoffs.

[Somto] Hey, one more half, y'all.

We can win this game, y'all,

we can win this sh*t.

[Gomes] Looking real good, stay together.

Right now, Rob got the hot hand,

it's the moment.

He got it going right now,

so whether he shoots it

or he draws the attention,

everybody else gotta be alert.

[Leitao] If somebody wanna get pissed off,

get pissed off at why the f*ck

we can't guard Rob Dillingham.

Is he too quick? Is he too fast?

Is he too good?

Because all I know, he's f*cking,

I don't care who, it's not anybody,

11 guys think. Stop talking to each other!

So, so we become the Cold Hearts.

Because we're bitching and we're moaning

to something that don't f*cking matter.

And now we gotta do two things,

we gotta return back to who we are,

and we gotta take away

their positive emotion.

[announcer 1]

We have the second round of the playoffs

and, boy, do we have a good

game on our hands. One point game.

Let's go!

- City Reapers are going the other way.

- [announcer 2] Showtime.

[announcer 1] Amen, to Ausar!

They they literally,

look like they're flying.

Get back bro.

[announcer 1] That's Rob going to work.

The floater connects.

Get back! Get back!

[Gomes] Hey, come on. Let's get a stop

now.

Nas, Nas hands, Nas hands. Corner.

- [announcer 1] Trey

- [announcer 2] Whoa!

- That's a Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow.

- [Somto yelling]

[announcer 1] And a foul.

[announcer 3] Chat, how do

we feel about that call, chat?

[Somto] f*ck!

- [announcer 1] It's intense.

- [announcer 2] Yeah, yeah.

Great energy.

Cold Hearts have to find

their groove, I guess.

[announcer 1] Oh, Johned, air ball.

- [announcer 1] Rob

- [Gomes] Watch your back.

- Eli Ellis, the save. And the finish.

- [announcer 2] Oh wow, he saved it.

[announcer 1]

And the City Reapers, on a 10-0 run.

[Bryce] Hey, there's some BS-a*s

turnovers and missed layups,

we're playing good, sh*t,

I'm missing, you missing,

we still making shots though,

you know what I'm saying,

it's just a little a*s turnover.

[announcer 1]

Huge possession. Oh, my goodness.

This what you wanted playoff

basketball, ladies and gentlemen?

[announcer 2] Rob, Rob's coming back.

[announcer 1]

Yeah, he's got that look in his eye.

- [announcer 2] Oh, no!

- [announcer 1] Throws it away.

[announcer 2] Now they gotta get a stop

right here.

[Gomes] Got 'em Somto, elbow!

Match up! Match up!

[announcer 1] Ausar Thompson driving,

kicking, Amen, hit me!

Amen Thompson with a dagger.

- That's Amen

- [announcer 2] Oh, good.

[announcer 1]

Oh, and they called a foul on Somto.

- [announcer 2] Man. Man, man, man.

- [announcer 1] And he is beside himself.

[announcer 2]

I feel, I feel Somto, the emotion.

[announcer 1] You know, this building

was rocking in the first half,

and there's a real nervous energy in here

right now, you know?

Here we go, 30 seconds left,

four point game, Rob

that's Bryce Griggs stripped,

Thompson's going the other way, Amen!

- Oh! Amen Thompson!

- [announcer 2] Wow. Two point game.

[announcer 1] Amen and Rob exchanging some

words, an intense game one at OTE arena.

[announcer 2] You know what, if you a

Cold Heart right now,

your frustration is through the roof.

[announcer 1] And also, I gotta say,

Cold Hearts have kind a looked like

the better team tonight.

[announcer 1] Walker off the mark.

That will do it for Game One,

City Reapers 104, Cold Hearts 97.

We will be back here Friday night

for Game Two.

[Gomes] Go!

Go!

[Bryce] You know,

it could be my last game.

You know, it's a lot of pressure,

only because there's a lot of people here

who I'm doing it for,

and the things I'm doing it for,

so just keeping that in mind

and just playing my game,

and leave out with a good impression.

They're up 1-0 on us so it's like,

y'all gotta win.

[Gomes] All those games

in the regular season,

they don't mean nothing.

Everything else counts right now.

The intensity gotta be higher.

Might be due for one.

But are we gonna let them take the game,

or are we gonna go win the game?

Those are the things

we need to have in our mind,

but that's the team we play,

it ain't nobody else, ain't no other team.

We worried about just them nine guys

that they got on that squad.

- One, two, three.

- [all] Together!

[announcer 1]

Game Two of the OTE semi-finals.

- Bryce Griggs going the other way.

- [announcer 2] They're running.

- Oh, that's great find.

- [announcer 1] Rob cutting.

[announcer 2] [g*n noises] Boom!

[announcer 1]

He's locked in, he's ready to play!

Johned Walker. Somto!

[cheering]

[announcer 2] Somto Cyril! This is

ridiculous.

[announcer 3] It's high stakes, man,

you lose, you go home,

I feel like they're playing like it.

[announcer 1] Ausar says, "Quiet please!"

[announcer 2] He is in a bag right now.

Ausar is hot.

[Gomes] Time out, time out.

[Gomes] Hey, we all right, we all right!

Get into transitions, I'm telling you

Hey, another thing,

Ausar got it going a little bit,

so we gotta close out to him

a little bit more tighter. All right?

Hey, here we go, work on three.

One, two, three work!

[announcer 1] Rob? Oh.

[tense music throughout]

- Oh, oh, good D. Good D.

- [announcer 2] Oh, man.

[announcer 1] A little out of control

here. Thompson going the other way. Eli.

[announcer 2] More turnovers than a

bakery.

[Bryce] Put me back

in the f*cking game, bro!

[announcer 3] Boom! That's the last thing

they need, for him to heat up!

- [announcer 1] There it is, Amen

- [announcer 3] Skip pass.

[announcer 1] Eli. That's his spot. Boom!

[announcer 3] Can't let that man open!

They are literally leaving the paint.

Letting them get wide open dunks.

Cause they're so afraid

of Eli Ellis getting open threes.

And the flood gates have opened.

[announcer 1] We got bodies falling

everywhere. Whoa!

[announcer 2] I need to see some urgency

from the Cold Hearts.

They gotta play like their season's

on the line, because it is.

[announcer 3] Oh, man, very, oh

-Yo, they're not playing like

- [announcer 1] Oh, man.

[announcer 3] Man, they're not playing

like they want it, man, I think it's over.

[hip hop music throughout]

- Eli with the floater.

- [announcer 1] That's a dagger.

[announcer 3] One legged floater

from the free throw line. It's over, yeah.

[announcer 1]

City Reapers 89, Cold Hearts 75,

and the City Reapers

are going to the finals.

[announcer 3] Hey, look man,

I love the Cold Hearts as a team,

I just really wish they would've

played harder this game man,

I think they really had a good shot

at winning the whole thing,

unfortunately,

this is where their season ends.

[Somto] I don't know how to deal

with losing, but like, it is what it is.

I have to move on to what's next,

gotta prepare how to be a man,

take care of, you know,

myself right now, yeah.

People around me too.

[Gomes] Man, I know you guys

are upset with the loss,

and upset with the way, you know,

we ended the season,

but we can't forget about

all of the things

we went through throughout the season.

Everything is not f*cking fair out here

in the world, but you still get to hoop,

you still get to play the game

you love to play and enjoy

and supposed to have fun out there,

shouldn't be no tension on anything.

Use it as a positive,

use it as a negative,

but don't put yourself

in the same situation

the next time you approach the game

of basketball.

[Bryce] Sad, bro.

Terrible, man, this ain't over,

this ain't the last opportunity,

I feel like, it helped me,

and I actually grew like,

little things I needed in life.

Hopefully, like, the NBA's next.

[Wilkins] I think he's trying to do

the best that he can

and, sometimes, we think our best

is good enough.

And, unfortunately,

in a lot of cases it's not.

[announcer 1] What a performance

by the Thompson twins.

What a season

and the City Reapers aren't done yet.

Finals match-up is the Dreamerz versus

the City Reapers.

- Yes, sir.

- Yes, sir.

[Wilkens]

A lot of people probably expected that

based on how the season has gone.

You know, the tale of two teams, two

coaching styles,

I'm looking forward to seeing

how it all shakes out.

[Eli] Family on three,

one, two, three

[Reapers] Family!

[hip hop music throughout]