(Big) Brotherly affair for Marley Biyendolo this NBL1 South season

Written by Julia Montesano

Marley Biyendolo is not your average NBL1 baller.

The Dandenong Rangers product will this year complement his NBL1 South output with regular appearances on our TV screens as a contestant in Channel 7’s Big Brother house.

With COVID-19 taking the NBL1 season away from players like Biyendolo, he took up the opportunity to do something completely different and headed into the Big Brother house with his unplanned time off from basketball.

“I watched the show when I was little with my mum all the time but it wasn’t until last year when I rewatched it again and I saw all the challenges and said to myself that I really want to try these,” he says.

“I would make a joke with one of my family friends, telling her that I was going to apply for that show one day and she said, ‘Alright, go on then.’

“I think it was the challenges that really got me excited and interested in applying for a show and a game like this.

“I really love the show so it’s perfect.”

Biyendolo is a self-confessed “cool, calm and collected kind of guy”, so in the Big Brother house, he is set to be one of the good guys that doesn’t ruffle too many feathers.

He says he will take lessons from being on the court into the house. 

“I’m definitely going to be myself in there and stick to my own morals and my own being as a person,” Biyendolo says.

“I’m going to do everything I can to hopefully win these challenges.

“I’m going to work hard; I got that from my basketball career.

“I’ll just be working as hard as I can while in the house.”

If Biyendolo does indeed work hard enough, he could walk away with the grand prize of $250,000.

Marley’s late mother, Victoria, lost a battle with cancer four years ago so if he does win, he wants to set himself up and take care of his father, Clotaire, who has been raising Marley and his brother Dieuson on his own since his wife’s tragic passing.

On the court, Biyendolo will still be maintaining that “brother” element in his life, getting the opportunity to pull on the Dandenong singlet with his brother Dieuson.

The Biyendolo family has been involved with the Rangers for nearly two decades, with Clotaire well-loved throughout the community and the late Victoria being a favourite of staff, coaches and players alike.

Dieuson and Marley both began their junior basketball careers at Dandenong before the latter took up college opportunities at Pepperdine University, South West Baptist and Peru State.

Now back where it all started, Marley describes playing with his brother as a “full circle” experience.

“My brother and I have come from playing when we were younger in the backyard for hours and hours and hours to now being on the same court again,” he says.

“It’s an awesome feeling for myself and the family to see us both on the floor together.”

Off the court, Biyendolo is in a long-distance relationship with United States Women’s National Soccer Team forward, Lyn Williams.

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant the couple has not been in the same country for over one year.

But despite this hurdle, Biyendolo is keeping a smile on his face and aiming to make the most of his opportunity in the NBL1.

“The NBL1 is growing and growing every single year,” the 26-year-old says.

“Going through the excitement of starting our season in 2019 and then having it get cut short was devastating.

“I’m super excited to be back out on the floor, especially back with Dandenong again, a club that I’m comfortable with and a club that I’ve been around for a long time.”

Playing in the NBL has always been Biyendolo’s goal, but it became more of a reality when he recently trained with Melbourne United.

He says this is when his determination to pull on an NBL jersey grew even more.

“The NBL is one of the best leagues in the world and the NBL1 is an amazing league too,” Biyendolo explains.

“Training at that level and training against these guys was amazing.

“It was just good to get in with bigger bodies.

“I still want to get as high as I can within this sport.

“I’ve got a lot of other things going on in my life at the moment so for now, I’m just having fun and seeing where things go.”

To catch Biyendolo on-court for the Rangers, head to NBL1.com.au or the NBL app.

To see him in action on Big Brother, tune into Channel 7 on Monday night for the beginning of his journey in the house.