The struggle of the EPG Guardians Koblenz continues as even under new head coach Venelin Berov, the club is 0-3 and still only had 1 victory in 2025. Last weekend, they allowed 112 points against the always tough Munster team as they couldn´t stop their three attack and get the rebounding edge. The team now came home and would have to do the best of it as they had 2 games within 48 hours and it didn´t get any easier against #7 team Phoenix Hagen who arrived into the game with a 3 game winning streak. They are one of those team that are always in the playoffs and play smart basketball and take very good care of the ball. After a small set back in Munster, Koblenz wanted to find back to their solid game that they showed against Jena recently, But once again stuck with their opponent well for a half, but in the second half their zone fell apart and they played catch up basketball and couldn´t get over the hump losing 84-71. Birthday boy Ty Cockfield couldn´t explode in the second half and finished with 13 points. “I thought we played well. We could have been more aggressive. If we would of started faster the way we ended the game then we would of won. We lacked the needed energy for 40 minutes. We waited to get hit before hitting back”, warned EPG Guardians Koblenz guard Ty Cockfield. Phoenix Hagen as usual played a solid team game for 40 minutes and even when Koblenz punched back, they never lost their composure. “We played solid. Even when they went on a run and hurt us on the ball screen, we always stuck together and played hard until the end”, stressed Phoenix Hagen American Tyler Stephenson-Moore (190-G, college: Stony Brook, agency: Players Group).

The EPG Guardians Koblenz were without German Moses Poelking who was out for the season while Phoenix Hagen was without American Devontae McCall. The first quarter was a tale of 2 runs as the EPG Guardians began well, but Phoenix Hagen struck back going on a big run to lead 25-17 after 10 minutes. The EPG Guardians Koblenz began focused and overpowered Phoenix Hagen in the first minutes taking the rapid 12-5 lead. Koblenz was aggressive and threw the ball inside giving their bigs good looks as Canadian Ben Stevens was a work horse scoring 3 times while Czech Republic big man David Boehms scored as did ex BBL player Leon Friderici with a nice finger tip roll lay in. The Koblenz offense had a great rhythm and the body language looked great while young French guard Alexandre Bouzidi ran the offense the way a pass first point guard should letting his high basketball IQ sparkle. But as soon as Bouzidi was out, the offense fizzled and Phoenix Hagen took advantage of it and went on a 20-5 run to lead by 8 points after 10 minutes. In the run, the guests moved the ball well and stifled the Guardians zone getting superb production from ex Giessen big man Tim Uhlemann who added 9 points while ex Rostock guard German Dennis Nawrocki added 5 points. Phoenix Hagen got a lot of second chances as the Guardians couldn´t protect the rim and many loose balls. The Guardians offense was erratic and too many 1-1 play as their team play from their first minutes vanished. “The Guardians played uncontrollable basketball at both ends of the court. Hagen took one step in the penetration and right away had the kick out opportunity. We had too many turnovers as well”, stressed EPG Guardians sport director Thomas Klein.

In the second quarter there continued to be ups and downs by both teams as no team could break away as Phoenix Hagen had the slim 42-40 advantage at half-time. The EPG Guardians Koblenz exploded in the first 2 minutes breaking out with a lethal 8-0 run to dead lock the game at 25-25. Bouzidi was back in the contest and the offense flow was there again as well as open shots. Georgia native Cockfield nailed a trey which was followed by a trey by ex University of Alabama at Birmingham (NCAA) forward William Lee. Lee then followed with a lay in on transition. However the Guardians were unable to hold the defensive intensity as Phoenix Hagen broke back finding their offensive rhythm again as modern day big man Tim Uhlemann nailed a trey and lay in while ex Clemson (NCAA) forward Naz Bohanon made a lay in. The Guardians also executed getting lay in´s by guards Bouzidi and Jacob Hanzalek, but the guests led 34-29. Phoenix Hagen continued to execute well attacking the zone and getting lay in´s by German Marvin Omovwie and Bohanon as Koblenz trailed 40-31. Once again Bouzidi was on the bench and the Guardians offense sputtered. However Phoenix Hagen stepped up their defense which led to transition baskets. Phoenix Hagen had control of the game and should of slammed the door in the faces of the Guardians, but they couldn´t extend their lead. The EPG Guardians kept together and fought back going on a 9-2 to trail only by 2 points at the break. In the run, the EPG Guardians Koblenz got a big trey by ex BBL player Dominique Johnson and stayed aggressive as Stevens and Friderici made free throws. Cockfield did what he does best by making a lay in. “Hagen allowed easy baskets in the last minutes. We were able to get back into the game with 1-1 play”, stated Thomas Klein. Phoenix Hagen shot 43% from the field and 30% from outside and had 18 rebounds and 4 turnovers while the EPG Guardians Koblenz shot 48% from the field and 30% from outside and had 21 rebounds and 8 turnovers.

In the third quarter Phoenix Hagen took control of the game and would never look back again. Phoenix Hagen didn´t waste anytime punching going on a massive 18-2 run to lead 60-42. Phoenix Hagen was at 30% from outside and hadn´t found their touch yet, but in the third quarter, they began to let it rain three´s. The guests got 2 three´s from ex Stony Brook (NCAA) guard Tyler Stephenson-Moore and one from Uhlemann and one from ex Rhondorf Dragon Ralph Honnou. The Guardians zone had had too many cracks and didn´t have that intensity of the first half. By the time Koblenz woke up, it was too late, but they didn´t give up. They rebounded and punched back going on a 12-5 run to trail only 66-54 after 30 minutes. In the run, the EPG Guardians Koblenz got a big trey from American Michael Bradley who has got a bit lost in the guard shuffle ever since Bouzidi arrived. Hanzalek also hit a trey while Cockfield made a lay in and Johnson connected on a pretty turnaround shot. “We lost total control of the game as Hagen began to hit their three´s. We hit some baskets to cut the lead down a bit”, stated Thomas Klein. “We stuck and trusted to our system. We did a good job forcing Cockfield to tough shots and had good ball movement getting open shots”, added Tyler Stephenson-Moore. “They made adjsutments. We have to be quicker on our rotations. The next guy has to be ready. They got us in scramble situations”, commented Ty Cockfield.

Phoenix Hagen continued to have control of the game in the fourth quarter and never trailed by less than 8 points and did a great job managing their lead and executing well on offense to secure the victory. The EPG Guardians began well getting lay in´s from Bouzidi and Johnson while solid role player Nawrocki hit a trey as Koblenz trailed 69-58. The EPG Guardians then played great defense getting 5 stops, but couldn´t execute on offense ruining a golden opportunity to come back. Phoenix Hagen then punished The EPG Guardians Koblenz with two three pointers from ex Kent State (NCAA) guard Sincere Carey and Stephenson-Moore to extend their lead to 75-61. Koblenz then attempted one last run scoring 6 unanswered points as Bradley dropped another trey and Friderici made a lay in as Phoenix Hagen led 75-67 with 2,24 to remain. The EPG Guardians Koblenz now had some momentum, but Phoenix Hagen was ice cold slapping Koblenz with a 9-2 run to lead 84-69 to win without problems. In the run, Phoenix Hagen attacked the paint area getting 6 points from Bohanon including a dunk as well as a lay in by ex Giessen guard Bjarne Kraushaar. “We showed our composure in the last minutes. We locked in and continued to play hard. We didn´t force anything and hit open shots”, expressed Tyler Stephenson-Moore. “We fought hard, but they carried the momentum until the end and we ran out of time. We will continue to stay together”, warned Ty Cockfield. Phoenix Hagen was led by Tyler Stephenson-Moore with 16 points while Tim Uhlemann added 15 points and Naz Bohanon had 11 points while the EPG Guardians Koblenz were led by Ty Cockfield with 13 points while 4 other players all added 8 points a piece. Phoennix Hagen shot 45% from the field and 41% from the three point line while they had 41 rebounds and 14 turnovers while the EPG Guardians Koblenz shot 40% from the field and 32% from the three point line and had 34 rebounds and 14 turnovers.