With only 3 games left in the regular season, the routes of the VET-CONCEPT Gladiators Trier and EPG Guardians Koblenz were going in 180 degree turns. The VET-CONCEPT Gladiators Trier were getting prepared to give their best showing in the Pro A playoffs with the massive focus of finally moving back to the BBL while some Guardian players might already have thoughts of what their summer vacation destinations might be. However The Guardians actually still had the goal of staying in the Pro A as they were even with the Artland Dragons at 7 wins a piece battling for the last spot in the Pro A. But the EPG Guardians were 1-15 in 2025 and getting wins was as difficult as Mac McClung getting an NBA opportunity. How in the world were they supposed to win the Davey vs Goliath showdown against Trier. It seems like it´s a big mental problem with believing they can win games. How in the world were they going to defeat the team that scores the most points in the Pro A with such an unstable defense? On a mild early Spring Sunday, the EPG Guardians Koblenz wanted to give their best effort for their fans in the last home game of the season and stayed with Trier for a half, but in the second half allowed 63 points to lose their 16th game in 2025 118-87. “We did a good job eliminating their three in the first game, but today they were letting it rain three´s. It sure looked like they were in playoff mode. They gave the first punch of the game and controlled game until the end. It was tough against their bigs as they had BBL size. We would rotate our 3 and 4 players against their 5”, stressed EPG Guardians Koblenz guard Ty Cockfield. The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier already had position 2 secured, but they still came to play and showed that they are getting prepared for the post season. They erupted on offense for another 100 plus point game, but also know that they have to cut down on points allowed. “We shared the wealth today. It helps that we have so many guys that cans score in double figures. We always have a high assist rate each game. But we know that we can still work on our defense. We have to make sure we have a lot in our defense tool box”, warned The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier guard Jordan Roland (185-PG-1997, college: Northeastern, agency: Diamond Sports). Trier demonstrated what it means to be team first. “Playing as a team is important. It is uncommon in the Pro A that teams have success with only 1 guy. We can have many different scorers step up each game”, warned Jordan Roland.

Leon Friderici at the FT line

The EPG arena was at it´s loudest this season as 400 plus The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier fans made the trip to Koblenz. Their team didn´t disappoint either as they totally jumped all over the Guardians leading 13-2 with only 2,55 played. Their guard terror sparkled as they attacked the paint and got lay in´s from 2018 JBBL winner Nolan Adekunle, Iranian guard Behnam Yakhchali, and American Clayton Guillozet. A focus of Koblenz was to defend the 1-1 well, but they couldn´t match the guests intensity or physicality. Ex BBL player Dominque Johnson then nailed a trey and the Guardians offense began to groove. But it was Ty Cockfield that carried the Guardians as he took the 1-1 route and scored a few baskets, but Koblenz trailed 21-10. Trier was able to continue to execute their offense and extend their lead thanks to the beast Maik Zirbes who was an absolute menace on the court. He would add 12 points in the last 5 minutes as he always was able to find his way to the free throw line. Guardians center Ben Stevens was totally overwhelmed by his physicality. Trier also got good support from ex Jena guard Nate Hinton who added 7 points. Roland also added a three pointer to give Trier the overwhelming 35-17 advantage. The EPG Guardians Koblenz got some fortune closing out the first quarter with a 5-0 run as Cockfield continued to do a good job finding his spots and made a pull up jumper while ex University Of Alabama at Birmingham forward William Lee dropped a trey as the The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier led only 35-22. “I saw run and gun basketball. That was simply terrible. We looked like a practice team. They got way too many open shots. We were playing kindergarden defense. If this continued we would lose 125-80”, warned EPG Guardians sport director Thomas Klein.

Jordan Roland from outside

In the second quarter, the EPG Baskets Koblenz played their strongest quarter at both ends, but an annoying run at the end by Trier spoiled their good play a little at the end. Both teams began with mini runs as the The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier got back to back baskets from ex Sacramento State guard Marcus Graves made a lay in with a fancy eurostep and Yakhchali made the perfect touch down pass to German big man Martin Linsen for the transition bucket while the Guardians punched back with superb play from Leon Friderici who found Lee back door for the massive 2 handed dunk and Friederici then scored on transition, but Trier still had the 39-26 advantage. Koblenz was slowly picking up their game and then stifled The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier with a brutal 9-2 run to trail only 41-35. In the run, the Guardians got 5 points from Cockfield who made a lay in and got to the line while Lee and Johnson made lay in´s. Koblenz stepped up their defensive intensity which led to sloppy offense by Trier. Koblenz also raised their physicality rate and stepped up their 1-1 defense. Koblenz also played more as a team and gained more self-confidence. The Guardians continued to keep up the pressure and incredible 1-1 player Ty Cockfield continued to carry his team doing all he could making a lay in and even helping out on the offensive glass with a tip in. Lee also added a tip in as Trier led only 45-41. However the EPG Guardians Koblenz were unable to keep the momentum allowing Trier to get away again as they closed out the first half with a 10-4 run to lead 55-45. Ex Hagen German Marco Hollersbacher did the most damage dropping 2 three´s. Linsen and Zirbes also continued to dominate inside scoring 2 baskets. “We played more together and increased our physicality. We did a good job getting Trier out of their concept”, stressed Thomas Klein. The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier shot 58% from the field and 29% from outside and had 17 rebounds and 6 turnovers while the EPG Guardians Koblenz shot 51% from the field and 18% from outside and had 14 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Michael Bradley with the runner

The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier decided the game for themselves in the third quarter exploding again with many points as they scored 30 points having the comfortable 85-63 advantage after 30 minutes. Cockfield began the second half with a pretty reverse lay up, but he was really challenged in the second half. After scoring 21 points in the first half, he would only get 6 in the second half. “I always get up for games like this where I get challenged from BBL type teams. They put bigger guys on me in the second half and it was tougher to shoot over them”, said Ty Cockfield. The good play by Koblenz continued as they then scored 2 more times going on a 7-2 run to trail only 57-52. Friderici made a lay in and Johnson another trey. Koblenz showed that when they combine a high intensity and physicality, They can give a team like Trier problems. However The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier then showed just how lethal their offense can be punching back with a lethal 19-5 run to extend their lead to 76-57. In the run, Trier got good support from many faces as Roland and Adenkunle dropped three pointers while Hollersbacher scored twice with a dunk and Zirbes and Adekunle also scored easy buckets inside. That high intensity and physicality was present again with Trier and the Guardians couldn´t match it. Here and there, the Guardians found ways to execute as young French player Alaxandre Bouzidi found an opening in the zone for a lay in, Johnson connected on a 20 footer and Friederici made a lay in, but the guests always had an answer and punched back. Athletic forward Marco Hollersbacher scored on the drive and Hinton hit a trey and Zirbes made a hard dunk. “We tightened things up defensively in the third quarter. We wanted to slow down Cockfield and did. We locked down on defense and hit shots”, stated Jordan Roland. “They are a playoff experienced team. They eliminated what was working for us before. They took away our drive as the 4 man guarded me. We didn´t move the ball well and our shots didn´t fall well”, added Ty Cockfield.

Maik Zirbes with the lay in

In the fourth quarter both teams took their foot of the defensive gas pedal as a total of 57 points were scored. The EPG Guardians couldn´t make any ground as they allowed 33 points. Both teams found their offensive rhythm right away. The incredible Behnam Yakhchali began with 5 points as he showed his 3 level scoring ability with a lay in and contested trey while Cockfield and Friderici found their spots and scored lay in´s, but Trier led 89-67. Then three´s began to rain as Marcus Graves nailed 2 back to back while Johnson also nailed one and made a lay in, but Trier still led nicely 95-72. The game looked like run and gun as defense continued to take a back seat as fans were seeing great offensive execution from both teams. The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier continued to execute well while also getting some hands up on defense and making stops and cruised out on a 14-4 run to lead 109-76. In the run, Roland continued to knock down shots scoring 5 points while Zirbes who has won 10 pro titles in his career carried on being a beast scoring twice and Hinton dropped a trey. The scoring continued down the stretch for both teams as the Guardians received three pointers from Czech Republic forward David Bohm and another trey from Johnson while Trier continued to play their bench as 2018 JBBL champion Evans Rapique dropped 2 three pointers and 2018 NBBL champion Hendrik Drescher also hit a trey. Ben Stevens ended the game with a pretty hook shot. “We might have taken a step back from defense in the last minutes. We have to be focused for 40 minutes. We ended the game executing at a high level”, stated Jordan Roland. “I think that both teams took their feet a bit off the gas pedal on defense. It looked a little like street ball, but I think that some guys had that lets go home mentality. We didn´t play as intense as we wanted to. Some guys fight to the end and some didn´t. It is hard to win when all aren´t on the same page”, said Ty Cockfield. The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier had 7 guys score in double figures and were led by Jordan Roland and Maik Zirbes with 18 points a piece. Amir Hinton and Martin Linsen added 13 points a piece while the EPG Guardians Koblenz were led by Ty Cockfield with 27 points while Dominique Johnson added 17 points. The Vet-Concept Gladiators Trier shot 63% from the field and 43% from outside and had 34 rebounds and 9 turnovers while the EPG Guardians Koblenz shot 51% from the field and 26% from outside and had 28 rebounds and 12 turnovers.