It was not the finish that Newmarket basketball player Matt Kiatipis hoped for competing on a massive stage in Las Vegas.
The ones basketball player was vying for $250,000 July 15-16 in the One's Basketball League Championship finals event. He ultimately fell in the round-of-16, losing 9-3 to George Beamon.
“I feel as if we had changed certain things in the training regiment leading up to the finals (especially recovery), we would have had a better result on the night,” he said on his social media feeds. “I can honestly say that there was nothing specific I lacked.”
The 21-year-old local basketball star had made his way through a regional qualifier in Houston to earn his spot in the finals. The league features players duking it out in one-on-one play and is backed by former NBA player Tracy McGrady.
Kiatipis’s game began as a close one, with his opponent and him trading baskets. Beamon was up 3-2 before he started to run away with the game, taking a 7-2 lead and going on to a 9-3 win.
Still, Kiatipis said he felt confident in his own shape.
“The condition was there, the training was there, the defense was there. My opponent had the better night. It’s time like this where you gotta give props to my opponent for making some difficult shots under taught defense. He’s a very experienced, 30-year-old pro.”
Beamon would go on to make it all the way to the final match, where he narrowly lost to John Jordan, 10-9 in sudden-death overtime.
Despite the loss, Kiatipis said he had a positive outlook as the youngest competitor in the finals.
“The only two opponents who beat me during this season were in the finals yesterday,” Kiatipis said. “I’m not close to my prime … I wanna thank George Beamon for giving me a challenge.”
The basketball star has garnered a strong social media following with basketball videos, with approximately 117,000 subscribers on YouTube. He said he plans to spend time on tour, starting in Montreal.
“This league is the real deal,” he said. “Can expect some huge things from me and the OBL in the future.”
