The losing woes of the EPG Guardians Koblenz has become like a disease in 2025. The team has lost 8 games in a row and continued to dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole. They just can´t put together a strong game for 40 minutes at both ends. Last weekend, they defended well in Tuebingen, but like so often couldn´t hit the ocean with their shots. Every new loss has an even bigger effect on them mentally. Even if their next opponent Rasta Vechta 2 was the dormat of the Pro A, they had been playing their best basketball this season having won 3 of their last 5 games. They were finding themselves as a team and in 4 of 5 games gave up only 73ppg. The club´s play was definitely in an upward spiral. “I see Vechta winning 6-7 more games”, stressed EPG Guardians Koblenz manager Thomas Klein. On a cold Sunday afternoon, SC Rasta set foot in the EPG arena hungry for more wins, but on this afternoon their hunger was left in Vechta as they were run off the floor from the EPG Guardians Koblenz for their first win in 2025 107-69. The Guardians began on fire and just kept punching Rasta Vechta 2 and they had very little answers and less punches to give back. Koblenz finally had an excellent shooting day showing that they can be an explosive offensive team. “We came in very well prepared for the game and we came out with a lot of energy. I began well and all followed my energy. We had good ball movement and simply hit shots. We played very physical and didn´t allow anything easy. We allowed little open catch and pop plays. It was a total team effort”, stressed Alabama native William Lee (206-F-1995, college: UAB). SC Rasta Vechta had been playing good ball as of late, but on this day just stunk up the EPG arena as it was simply one of those days at the office where nothing worked. “The first half was a catastrophe for us. The second half was better where we lost only by 1 point. We had no energy coming into the game. We simply didn´t have the balls to come out and play the way we should”, stressed Rasta Vechta 2 guard Roy Krupnikas.

Moses Poelking at the FT Line

The EPG Guardians Koblenz were without Ben Stevens and Yassin Marfouz, but came out red hot taking the quick 10-5 lead. In the run it was newcomer William Lee that had a debut that any guy would dream of. He came out and scored 7 of the 10 points and he looked as if he had been on the team since day 1. Thomas Klein won the sweepstakes with Lee. “He plays like he is in another league. He brings that much needed seniority and leadership at both ends of the court. His play carried everyone else. He simply can do it all”, stressed Thomas Klein. Rasta Vechta American Philipp Carr who played at Morgan State (NCAA) and in Portugal last season carried his team with 2 buckets. The Guardians were doing it at both ends while Lee carried the team and his good energy pushed his teammates. The offensive explosion carried on as Koblenz continued the rout going on a swift 13-4 run to extend their lead to 23-9. Koblenz continued to share the ball well and spread the love around as Lee scored again as did German center Moses Poelking and Dominique Johnson nailed a trey. The Guardians were also aggressive and reached the free throw line as Poelking and Boehm added points. The Guardians pick and roll defense sparkled as did their help defense. Koblenz kept the pressure on as ex easyCredit BBL player Leon Friderici produced 5 points and William Lee continued to shine with his mid range game with a basket as the Guardians led 30-13. “We defended very well. Our help defense was excellent. They did have some misfortune in that they missed 3-4 open three´s. We had a good rthym and mix of inside out basketball”, stated sport director Thomas Klein. The EPG Guardians Koblenz shot 73% from the 2 point area and 50% from outside and had 12 rebounds and 2 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shot 40% from the field and 17% from outside and had 8 rebounds and 2 turnovers.

Kevin Smit from Downtown

The offensive clinic of the EPG Guardians continued in the second quarter as they exploded again with a few more points totaling 36 and leading 66-29 at halftime. The EPG Guardians followed their first quarter start with another massive start going on a 11-4 run to lead 41-17. They displayed good inside out basketball, but in this run concentrated a bit more on the three as Johnson connected for 2 and TY Cockfield for another. “DJ is our captain and glue guy. He keeps all together and disciplined”, said William Lee. Moses Poelking continued to have total ease getting easy baskets as French newcomer Alexandre Bouzidi made the perfect pass. The French guard who won the 2024 U-20 European championships and hit Germany with 22 points and 9 dimes showed from the first second that he is the perfect playmaker that the Guardians had always searched for. “He sees absolutely everything on the court. It is incredible how well he fits in and is running the offense with only 2 days of practice. He spreads the floor so nicely”, stated Thomas Klein. Ex EWE baskets Oldenburg guard Kevin Smit and Carr combined for 5 points which was much needed then, but Koblenz still had the comfortable 43-23 advantage. But that little burst of energy from Vechta didn´t stifle the Guardians in anyway, but instead Koblenz contiued to rattle off points after points going on a 23-5 run to have the incredible 37 point lead at half-time. In the run, Leon Friederici showed that he is an instant walking bucket adding 10 points. He showed that when he is feeling it, he just doesn´t stop, but keeps shooting. Rookie Michael Bradley from Texas also added 2 buckets while Lee also scored. Cockfield also added 4 points. Even if Cockfield added 17 points, he was a bit in the shadow of Lee. Cockfield wasn´t stressed having to do so much and was calm and picked his spots better than usual. “We hit even better in the second quarter. We kept the rhythm very well. Johnson began with shots and Friederici ended. We were playing modern basketball”, stated Thomas Klein. The EPG Guardians Koblenz shot 70% from the 2 point area and 70% from the three point line and had 26 rebounds and 6 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shot 35% from the field and 23% from the three point line and had 13 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Michael Bradley from the parking lot

In the third quarter the EGG Guardians weren´t as explosive on offense as in the first half, but still executed well and Rasta Vechta 2 began to hit more shots as they added 21 points, but still trailed badly 90-50. The first few minutes weren´t one dimensional as Rasta Vechta 2 actually was able to trade baskets with the Guardians. Smit and Luke House who played at Drexel (NCAA) hit three´s while Poelking and Bouziidi made lay in´s for the 72-37 advantage. William Lee continued to demonstrate his great play with an alley oop dunk getting the perfect feed from Leon Friederici. “We had tried it the play before, but I just told Leon that the lob was there and to look for me. We tried it on the exact next play and it worked”, smiled William Lee. In the next 3 plays there were 2 dunks by the Guardians from Poelking and another from Lee and NBBL champion Linus Ruff connected for a trey, but Rasta Vechta 2 still trailed 76-40. Both teams were executing well on offense, but that didn´t help the guests cause as they couldn´t make any ground and were far far away from ever getting over the hump. Cockfield and Bradley made some baskets while the guests countered with Danish guard Jonathan Klussmann and 2022 JBBL finalist with Rostock Roy Krupnikas. Poelking continued to get easy looks as he made a hook shot as Bouzidi continued to have his eyes on him and found him at ease. “We continued to play well and kept up the energy. We went into the second half as if it was 0-0. We never lost our focus and stayed together as a team”, added William Lee. “Coach Gruhn wasn´t happy how we played the first half. It was shame how we played. Their 1-1 play and physicality hurt us. We did a better job matching their physicality”, commented Roy Krupnikas. The EPG Guardians shot 73% from the field and 53% from the parking lot and had 38 rebounds and 10 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shot 37% from the field and 25% from the parking lot and had 22 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Justin Onyejiaka at the free throw line

Rasta Vechta 2 had their best quarter of the game in the fourth quarter outscoring the EPG Guardians Koblenz 19-17. Both teams executed their first possessions as David Boehm hit a pick and pop while Klussmann nailed a trey, but Koblenz still led 92-53- Then proceeded a massive long period where no teams scored as there were 10 stops with 5 from each team. Moses Poelking stopped the negative no points phase with an old school hook shot. Bouzidi didn´t only hand out dimes, but also showed that he could create for himself as he made a lay in while Luke House hit from outside but the guests still trailed 96-56. After another Johnson trey, Marco Bacak who played 2 seasons in Leverkusen made a lay in while William Lee added his second to last basket of the day giving the Guardians the 101-58 lead. Lee finished with a great game showing his versatility at both ends with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 blocks. “I just wanted to win. I came into the game to do whatever it took to help us win. I wasn´t looking at the stats. I wanted to be a team player”, warned William Lee. Both teams executed well to the end as Lee added another three pointer and Cockfield his patent mid distance shot while the guests got 2 baskets in the paint from Ruff and an off balance shot from Carr. “Teams tend to let up when you have a big lead. We lost some energy and they hit some shots”, added William Lee. “We had no stress down by so much and just played more free. It was fun playing like this. We should of played like that from the start”, warned Roy Krupnikas. The EPG Guardians Koblenz were led by William Lee with 19 points. Leon Friederici and Ty Cockfield added 17 points a piece while Moses Poelking and Dominique Johnson added 15 points a piece while Rasta Vechta 2 was led by Jonathan Klussman with 14 points while Linus Ruff added 11 points. The EPG Guardians Koblenz shot 62% from the field and 41% from outside and had 48 rebounds and 13 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shott 35% from the field and 29% from outside and had 29 rebounds and 9 turnovers.