OTE had two representatives at the Slam Dunk and 3-Point Nationals competitions on Wednesday night and both came home champions
The night began with Jelly Fam’s Elijah Moore taking part in the Rockin’ Protein Men’s 3-Point Shootout. Moore, who is committed to play at Syracuse next season, scored 24 points in the first round, the highest score of all four competitors, to advance to the finals. Competing in the finals against Duke commit Kon Knueppel, Moore scored 23 points, narrowly edging out Knueppel’s 21 points and earning Moore the title of National 3-point champion
Moore followed up his win in the Rockin’ Protein Men’s 3-Point Shootout with one final competition in the Skechers Battle of the Champions, where he took on the State Farm Women’s 3-Point Shootout Champion, Aili Tanke. In the single round competition, Moore scored 22 points, once again beating out his competition by two points, as Tanke put up a score of 20 points. With the win, Moore now holds the title of the undisputed High School 3-point champion
The King’s Hawaiian Slam Dunk Contest followed the 3-point competition, and City Reapers high-flyer Jahki Howard took center stage in the competition. Auburn commit Howard, known for his creative and explosive dunks, advanced to the final round with perfect scores on his first two dunks in the first round, the only player to score perfectly on his first two attempts
Competing against Florida commit Isaiah Brown in the finals, both Howard and Brown put together dunks with scores of 24 points, forcing one final overtime round. 2024 OTE Finals MVP Howard came into that overtime round with a championship mindset and it showed, as his dunk scored a perfect 30 to earn him his second championship in the last three weeks
Both Moore and Howard are taking their talents to the collegiate level next season, as the sharpshooter Moore will play at Syracuse University while the explosive Howard will compete at Auburn University
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