By Luis Torres
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The Omni Elite Classic (OEC), powered by Northeast Basketball Club, is an annual high school all-star game, featuring the top-ranked male and female players in the New York tri-state area and nationally.
The OEC is the final send-off game as players are set to achieve new heights through their collegiate, professional and/or NBA basketball careers. The event also serves as an opportunity for mentorship and learning from some of the best in the game as former and current NBA and WNBA players dedicate their time and talent to inspire and help the next generation of ballers.
This grassroots platform has co-hosted a range of talented athletes, from McDonald’s All-Americans: Jahvon Quinerly, AJ Griffin, Celeste Taylor, Aubrey Griffin, to current NBA players: Naz Reid, Cole Anthony, Ty Jerome, Eric Pascall, Elijah Huges, Mo Bamba, and many more. The ACES program goes beyond the love for the game. The OEC is an extension of the ACES ethos: using its platform to tell stories through unique brand and event activations.
Speaking with Brian Kortovich, former professional hooper turned Founder & CEO of Brand ACES, the importance of this event platform became evident: “In an extremely challenging year for everyone, our team made a conscious effort to pull off this event — for the impact it will have on the players, local community and to (safely) ease back into live events. Grassroots basketball has always been part of the DNA of Brand ACES, which co-hosted high school players games through a joint-venture from 2015-2019.”
The ACES team acknowledges the important programs that have been done in the past, and, is excited to move forward in a new direction while keeping the focus on empowering the players to share their stories through the ACES brand platform. Kortovich added “we welcome (the players) to a new stage that reignites the celebration of grassroots high school hoops. It is also important to recognize the OEC Team whose efforts and hard work make this possible: Trevor Harris, Jess Villaplana, Jason Cole, Dwight Shaw, and Dayon Floyd.”
OEC 2021 takes place May 26 in NYC with one Girl’s game and one Boy’s game. Both games include 24 players. The girl’s game is set to tip-off at 6:00p.m.and the boy’s game at 8:00 p.m. EST. (Please note this is not a public event).
