The road to the start of the 2025-2026 season continues for the EPG Baskets Koblenz as they continue to test all they can to be ready for their third Pro A season. The club continues to showcase good performances especially in the Pro A as they beat new team RheinStars Cologne with ease and also upended the Giessen 46ers despite not being complete. They played the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim tough on the road, but went home with a hard fought loss where scoring was the main dish on the menu for both teams. With a little less than 2 weeks remaining to their first game against 2010 Eurochallenge winner BG Goettingen, they tested one more time against a Pro A team with PS Karlsruhe. Only 2 seasons ago, they won the Pro A and opted to remain in the Pro A. The club is always feisty and annoying to play. It wasn´t any different on this night in Koblenz as PS Karlsruhe despite coughing up the ball 25 times, defended hard all night, rebounded well and sank 33 free throws winning 79-72. 2019 NBBL champion Kilian Binapef was a force scoring 26 points and leading the charge for 2005 Euro silver medalist head coach Demond Greene. “We played aggressive all night long and did a great job getting to the free throw line. We were able to play our fast game and played as a team”, stressed PS Karlsruhe guard Kilian Binapfl (198-SG-2000). The EPG Baskets Koblenz had to play catch up basketball for the whole evening and never found a real rhythm on offense and had problems stopping the guests drive. “Our energy was low in the first half. We were able to pick up our energy and game more in the second half. Our defensive pressure was good at the end, but we didn´t play together as a team for 40 minutes”, stressed EPG Baskets Koblenz guard Garrett Hicks.

Jannis Sonnefeld at the free throw line

PS Karlsruhe who were without ex EPG Baskets Koblenz center Maurice Pluskota got off on a lightening 8-0 lead before even a minute was played. The guests caught Koblenz off guard drilling 2 three´s from Germans David Pisic and Binapfl and UK player Wesley Oba smacked home a hard dunk that had the gym very quiet. The EPG Baskets were flat while PS Karlsruhe could play their fast game and showed they had some range from downtown. PS Karlsruhe had massive on ball pressure and hedged well. Ex easyCredit BBL player Marco Bakak finally got Koblenz on the board with a lay in at the 6,07 minute mark. The EPG Baskets Koblenz began to defend more with heart and aggression which led to a trey by ex Kirchheim forward Jonas Niedermanner. However PS Karlsruhe didn´t lose their offensive rhythm as they added a trey by Mikal Dawson who played at the University of Akron and David Ejah who compares his game to Draymond Green made a lay in as Koblenz trailed 13-6. However Koblenz defended well and closed out the first quarter with a 7-2 run to trail only 15-13 after 10 minutes. The EPG Baskets Koblenz were able to play inside out basketball getting a lay in by ex Dragons Rhondorf center Alexander Moeller and a trey from ex wiha Panthers guard Badu Buck. “They began fast hitting shots while we missed too many open shots. We were too unconcentrated on offense, but had good on ball pressure. We didn´t play smart when to penetrate and when not to”, stressed EPG Baskets Koblenz sport director Thomas Klein.

Tyrese Williams from outside

In the second quarter both teams were able to heighten their offense somewhat, but it took a few minutes as both teams had 3 possessions a piece and were unable to score. PS Karlsruhe did a good job getting to the rim while Koblenz got 2 lay ups from Bacak and ex MBC guard Aleksa Kovacevic to trail 21-19. However Koblenz was unable to get over the hump as PS Karlsruhe took advantage of the EPG Baskets getting their 5th team foul early and responded with free throws from Pisic, ex Wurzburg guard Tyrese Williams and a lay in by Pisic for the 27-19 advantage. Koblenz had no ball movement and bad shot selection while the guests practiced good pick and roll defense. Koblenz also weren´t aggressive, but here and there they showed that when they were aggressive, they would be rewarded as Jonas Niedermanner and ex Trier forward Janis Sonnefeld made lay in´s to trail 28-23. DJ Jefferies who had only been in Germany 2 weeks made the dunk of the game with an explosive 2 handed jam as Koblenz trailed 30-25. “We will see more dunks like that. We try to hit him early so he can make dunks like that”, smiled Garrett Hicks. “I like to play above the rim and get the crowd excited”, smiled DJ Jefferies. PS Karlsruhe continued to hold the momentum and continued to execute well getting 2 baskets from David Ejah while Koblenz got some key support from ex Wurzburg guard Calvin Wishart who once again showed his rapid scoring adding 5 points, but PS Karlsruhe led 38-30 at half-time. “We continued to have concentration problems. We allowed them to get to the free throw line way too much. Our mind set just wasn´t there. We let guys like Binapel and Pisic beat us”, stated Thomas Klein.

Calvin Wishart from downtown

PS Karlsruhe continued to lead in the third quarter and tried to break away, but the EPG Baskets Koblenz continued to claw their way back and trailed only 55-52 after 30 minutes. Once again both teams had immense problems in the first minutes as both teams had 5 possessions with no points. PS Karlsruhe were aggressive and finally got some baskets from Binapel who made a nice move around Jefferies and Ejah made a pretty turn around shot for the 43-32 Ps Karlsruhe advantage. The EPG Baskets Koblenz had difficulty getting into the zone with their drives. But at times it doesn´t take a team long to fight back as Koblenz finally found their touch from outside getting three´s from Hicks and Buck to trail only 43-40. Kovacevic had been on the bench for some minutes and that order and calmness was missing, but once inserted, Koblenz got back on track. PS Karlsruhe once again were able to get away again to lead 49-42 as Oba and Binapfl hit free throws and Dawson made a lay in. However the EPG Baskets Koblenz kept fighting back led by Calvin Wishart who found his spots well making a lay in and 4 free throws to trail only by 3 points after 3 quarters. “We weren´t aggressive enough. When we are aggressive, we gave them problems. We had good on ball defense, but had problems stopping their drive”, commented Thomas Klein. “We lost some energy when they came back, but we still did a good job keeping the lead with our strong switch and hedging”, stated Kilian Binapfl. “Our vets picked us up. We pressure them more and hit more shots”, added Garrett Hicks.

Wesley Oba at the FT line

In the fourth quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz got their first lead of the game, but weren´t able to hold the momentum as PS Karlsruhe were able to get lead back and control the crunch time to win. The EPG Baskets Koblenz began the fourth quarter well as their offense clicked as Sonnefeld scored on the nifty back door pass by Bacak, Moeller made a lay in and Buck drilled home a trey for the 59-58 Koblenz lead. Niedermanner added another trey for the 62-58 lead as their 10-3 run shocked PS Karlsruhe. However PS Karlsruhe showed that they could duplicate Koblenz´s game with a run and three´s that led to 8 unanswered points. Binapfl began with free throws and Dawson and Ejah stroked home three´s for the 66-62 advantage. Buck answered with a clutch three pointer to trail 66-65, but Koblenz couldn´t buckle down on defense and get stops. Dawson added a lay up and Williams a in your face trey for the 71-65 PS Karlsruhe lead. Jefferies then made a lay in as Koblenz trailed 71-67 with 2,08 to play. “DJ came late to us. He still doesn´t have his fitness up to par. He can play ¾ and is quick on his feet. He is integrated well into team and is a nice guy. He is a real hustler and will give us an impact”, warned Thomas Klein. However PS Karlsruhe didn´t let up, but kept up the pressure getting a lay in by Binapel and 2 free throws by Dawson to lead 75-67 with less than 2 minutes to play. Calvin Wishart led a charge at the end with 2 steals and a lay in to cut PS Karlsruhe´s lead down to 75-71 with 1,01, but it wasn´t enough as the guests closed out the game with 4 free throws by Kilian Binapfl. “We got to the free throw line and stayed aggressive. We played smart and continued to share the ball well. We stuck together as a team despite the 2 turnovers at the end”, said Killian Binapel. “We let them get to the free throw line and couldn´t stop their transition. Plus our 1-1 defense wasn´t good”, stated Garrett Hicks. PS Karlsruhe was led by Kilian Binapfl with 26 points. Mikal Dawson added 15 points and David Ejah 12 points while the EPG Baskets Koblenz were led by Badu Buck with 14 points and Calvin Wishart added 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals. PS Karlsruhe shot 42% from the field and 27% from outside and had 42 rebounds and 25 turnovers while the EPG baskets Koblenz shot 40% from the field and 22% from outside and had 27 rebounds and 15 turnovers-.