ALTHOUGH his Eastern Suns may not have found the win in their NBL1 West Men’s clash against the Goldfields Giants over the weekend, 16-year-old Marley Sam was one of the shining lights with a terrific performance off the bench.

The weekend marked Round 17 of the 2025 season, and with just two more weeks until finals, each win was going to be crucial for shaping the postseason picture. Both the Giants and the Suns were eager to walk away from the clash with a win given they are each engaged in the hunt for a finals spot in the coming weeks.

It ended up being an emphatic showing from the Giants, starting the game with a dominant display to jump out to a strong lead and never looking back. Ultimately, the Suns were never a chance after quarter time, and ended up falling by 23 points at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium on Saturday night.

Despite the result not going their way, the Suns would be excited by the performance of Sam, who was a spark of the bench and gave the team some much-needed scoring when they were in dire need for some offence.

Goldfields Giants (120) def. Eastern Suns (97)

Marley Sam – 19 points, two rebounds, six assists, one steal

In just 24 minutes of court time, the young gun was able to have a serious impact for the Suns, proving one of the biggest positives of the match on a tough night for Eastern.

He came into the game with his side trailing by eight, and hit the scoreboard with a pair of driving layups for the Suns, trying to ignite something for the visitors. Although he was unable to single-handedly drag his side back into the contest, it was still a strong showing of what he is capable of with ball in hand.

He was subbed out of the game to start the second period, but returned to the action midway through the term, picking up exactly where he left off with with another nice finish in the paint. Sam then showed his passing prowess with a nice dish out to Terrico White on the perimeter, as Eastern looked to bring the margin back to single-digits. The young gun continued to drive into the paint, beginning to get downhill and either finish at the cup or draw contact and head to the charity stripe, doing his best to keep the Suns in it.

Sam began to cash in from behind the arc in the third quarter, nailing his first three-pointer of the match to showcase his three-level scoring. He followed it up a couple of minutes later with his second triple of the contest, and although the Suns fell further behind, Sam simply kept chugging along offensively, keeping the match from being an even bigger blowout.

After a short stint on the bench in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the guard returned to the fold and showed his composure with a nice and-one for an impressive highlight play. He closed out the game with a pair of nice passes to wide-open teammates, as the Suns delivered their most competitive period of the match.

Sam made the most of his limited court time, nailing 19 points and six assists on 7/10 shooting from the field and 2/3 shooting from behind the arc. He was also just -4 in a 23-point loss, showing that he was one of the better performers for the Suns on a tough night at the office, and at just 16 years of age, has a bright future ahead.