The pre season for the Dragons Rhondorf and EPG Guardians just keeps rolling along as both teams continue to prepare for the 2024-2025 season. Both teams came off wins in their last tests as Rhondorf slapped around Luxemburg team T71 Dudelange as did The EPG Guardians. The Dragons Rhondorf continue to come together and form good team chemistry as they had already beaten Pro A team Rasta Vechta while the Guardians did some house cleaning during the summer and have brought in many new Americans. Koblenz is a club that is very hungry to have a better season than last where they failed to make the playoffs. This was another big challenge for the Dragons Rhondorf as they attempted to beat another Pro A team. On a warm late summer night, both teams didn’t test in the beautiful CGM arena, but in the Guardians old gym and Rhondorf stuck with the favorite for a half, but collapsed in the third quarter as Koblenz ran away with the contest winning 100-72. When rough moments came it was veteran Ty Cockfield Jr. (183-PG-1996, college: Arkansas St., agency: BIG) that took over, but he also had many teammates that contributed as 5 guys scored in double figures. ‘Basketball is about being disciplined. We saw them as a Pro B team in the first half and took them for granted. We need to fight and play our game and not theirs. In the third quarter we were the Guardinas’, warned Ty Cockfield Jr.. The Dragons Rhondorf played a hard fought game for 40 minutes, but just couldn’t keep up with the Guardians physicality and inside game as they just weren’t big enough down low. ‘I felt like we had a good first half. But we simply gave up too many rebounds. If you get 30 plus rebounds in a quarter, then it will be tough to win. This game is another learning phase for us. We had a really good fourth quarter. It was our goal to win the fourth quarter. We just came up a bit short’, stressed Dragons Rhondorf assistant coach KJ Sherril.

Bryce Workman at the FT line

The EPG Guardians were without Alin Blunt while the Dragons Rhondorf were complete. The Dragons Rhondorf came out strong hitting three’s well as ex Cologne sniper Antonio Pilipovic hit 2 in a row and American rookie Tim Smith also connected while the EPG Guardians used their size advantage and went inside with ease as ex BBL player Dominique Johnson and ex Jacksonville University forward Bryce Workman scored. Dangerous point guard Ty Cockfield Jr. set the tone drawing guys on him and either finishing or making the pretty dime. ‘Cockfield is quicker than Alani Moore and can jump like Brian Butler. He will be one of the top point guards in the Pro A this season’, stressed EPG Guardians sport director Thomas Klein. The Dragons Rhondorf couldn’t get inside, because Koblenz was a giant wall and they opted for the three. Rhondorf kept being a pest and got super support from the bench with Marko Rosic who scored on the drive twice while ex Bayreuth big man Marco Rahn stroked home a trey as Rhondorf led 17-15. However the overall keen inside out game of Koblenz was too strong as Johnson added another trey for the 18-17 advantage. Koblenz also got ample support from the bench as top Pro A big man Maurice Pluskota had 2 pretty assists and veteran Leon Friderici scored. Rhondor also got support from young German Janne Mueller who made an off balance shot, but the EPG Guardians had the slim 25-21 lead after 10 minutes. ‘Our offense was ok, but we gave up too many three’s. We boxed out well and rebounded well. We could of played with higher intensity’, stressed Thomas Klein.

Kelvin Omojola for 3

In the second quarter the Dragons Rhondorf continued to give the EPG Guardians Koblenz a good fight, but with 3-4 minutes to, it was Ty Cockfield Jr. that took matters into his own hands scoring 5 baskets and helping his team have a 8 point lead at the break. Rhondorf had to fight for good shots and didn’t really get them as Smith and Mueller made difficult shots, while rookie Michael Bradley from Northern Kentucky made a three pointer to dead lock the game at 28-28. But the EPG Guardians were running their plays better and cruised out on a 7-0 run to lead 35-28 as Friederici connected with the long ball while Cockfield who played at Arkansas State and Workman scored in the zone. Rhondorf had problems combating the Guardians physicality and their on ball defense. But the Dragons continued to fight and got 2 clutch three’s from Rahn and Las Vegas native Kelvin Omojola to cut the lead down to 37-35. TIM Smith then went down and had to leave the game which didn’t help their rebounding our three point shooting. Butat this point, the game was simply too tight and Ty Cockfield Jr. showed that in adversary, he can take over and carry the team. He scored 5 buckets each time driving to the hole and showing that he was unstoppable. It looked so easy. His play led the Guardians on a 16-9 run. ‘My job is too take the game into my own hands when we are under pressure. We have a full talented team, but on nights like this, it is my job to lead my team over the top’, warned Ty Cockfield Jr.. The Guardians also got vital buckets from Johnson and Friederici. Plilpovic closed out the second quarter with a bomb, but the EPG Guardians led 52-44. ‘I liked our offensive plays and we showed some good 1-1 abilities. Cockfield showed his dominance, but that still wasn’t him at 100% with his game’, stated Thomas Klein.

Moses Poelking with the lay in

In the third quarter, the EPG Guardians took over winning the quarter 26-6 and not allowing a field goal for 8,00 minutes. Koblenz got on the board first with Pluskota and Workman baskets and then the Dragons received their first field goal from Diallo who was fed a nice bounce pass back door from Omojola as they were behind 56-47. The EPG Guardians then shut the door early on the Dragons with a lethal 20-2 run to extend their lead to an overwhelming 76-48. In the run, Koblenz got 7 points from Cockfield and 6 points from undersized forward Workman who is just a work horse getting rebounds like a KJ Sherril back in the day. ‘A Dragon player also said that Workman reminded him of how I once played. He is an incredible athlete and a hard worker. Everybody respected him in the gym today. He plays with aggression and I think that he will have a strong season as well. Cockfield will be one of the strongest, quickest and most explosive players that you will see in the Pro A. He is a real leader and I enjoyed watching him. I think he has the leadership qualities to carry the Guardians to a successful season’, warned KJ Sherril. ‘Cockfield is a great athlete and player. He has great body control and is physical. He plays at his own pace. You can’t speed him up. Sadly he can get to the basket easily’, said Kelvin Omojola. Koblenz also got that 3 point stability from Johnson again and a lay in by Bradley. All in all, Koblenz was stopped 12 times in the run. Rosic finally stopped the run with a lay in with 54 seconds remaining. The EPG Guardians led 78-50 after 30 minutes. ‘Coach was on us at the break. He told us to play our game. He were more disciplined in the third quarter and played our plays right and were simply a lot more aggressive’, stressed Ty Cockfield Jr.. ‘We lacked physicality and fatigue set in. They had a larger rotation and were bigger and more physical than us. Our goal was too initiate the contact first, but that was tough to do’, said KJ Sherill.

Danas Kazakevicius at the FT line

In the fourth quarter, the Dragons Rhondorf didn’t just lay down and die, but kept fighting and came close to winning the quarter as it was dead locked 22-22. Marko Rosic was aggressive the whole game and at times had misfortune with his floater to fall, but played tough early scoring 6 points in a minute to cut Koblenz’s lead down to 84-58. The Guardians got some insurance baskets from veterans Moses Poelking and Leon Friedrici, but the Dragons kept matching them in the points category. The bench continued to help as young Germany Dyami Janneck scored back to back baskets as Rhondorf trailed 88-62. This kid continues to play with a lot of energy and is trying to follow in the foot steps of his teammate Janne Mueller who has grown much in the last 2 years with his game. Rhondorf continued to forget their fatigue and really gave Koblenz a good test despite being down by 20+ points. Despite Poelking and Cockfield buckets, the Dragons continued to respond as Janneck and Omojola scored to cut the Guardians advantage to 98-70. Workman scored the 100th point and Janneck closed out the game with a lay in as he displayed his quickness as well. ‘I really love this Dragons team. They played like a true title team. They didn’t give us only a great test for one half, but for two. We really needed them hitting us in the mouth. They played hard until the end’, stressed Ty Cockfield Jr.. ‘Our young guys stepped up in the fourth quarter. We had nothing to lose. We busted our butts. We got good energy from the bench. Our coach gave the young guys confidence’, stressed KJ Sherill. The EPG Guardians were led by TY Cockfield with 29 points. Dominique Johnson added 16 points and Moses Poelking 16 points while the Dragons Rhondorf were led by Marco Rahn with 14 points while Marko Rosic added 12 points. The EPG Guardians shot 61% from the field and 47% from outside and had 44 rebounds and 20 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 39% from the field and 30% from outside and had 24 rebounds and 19 turnovers.