South West Slammer’s men’s side notch third win of season with 12-point win over Eastern Suns

South West Slammers men’s side registered their third win of the NBL1 West season on Saturday night, beating Eastern Suns by 12 points at Ray Owen Sports Centre. The Slammers notched their second victory in their last three games in the 84-72 result and moved up to 12th on the NBL1 West ladder, ahead of the Suns and Cockburn Cougars on percentage. Star Buay Tuach had one of his most efficient performances for the season on the night, needing only 13 shots to score 20 points while grabbing seven rebounds, dishing three assists and grabbing three steals, while centre Alex Holcombe (16 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks) led a brilliant defensive effort and was strong on the boards. With the Slammers needing a boost from the perimeter in the absence of Mathiang Muo, who has linked up with the South Sudan national team for a pre-Olympics training camp, Manyiel Wugol produced a strong effort, hitting three shots from outside in a 14-point outing. Several young Slammers also showed their skills, with Pharell Keats (seven points, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals) impacting the game in several ways, Jack Flynn and Devan Craig continuing strong spells of recent play and Manyuol Makuac dropping a season-high nine points. A strong defensive effort in the first half saw the Slammers limit the Suns to only 32 points across the first and second terms, allowing them to take a six-point advantage into the main break. Much of their offence was sparked by their work on the other end of the floor, with a Keats steal leading to a breakaway Tuach dunk in the second term a prime example. The game opened up in the third quarter but the visitors were up to the task, making six of their first eight shots in the term to expand their advantage to 16 points. The Suns refused to go away, closing the gap to four points in the final term as the Slammers’ issues with late-game offence threatened to come to the fore, but the winners were able to get defensive stops and hit the scoreboard when it counted.