Posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026
Rapid Wrap: Round 11
Rapid Wrap Round 11
Round 11 of the Rapid League delivered drama from start to finish, with two overtime thrillers, statement performances from some of the competition’s rising names and key results that kept the ladder race alive. James Matthews produced a Rapid League best in a double-overtime classic, Nico Hill made an immediate impact on his season debut, Zach McKenzie delivered one of the Rapid stat lines of the season, and several players reached major milestones as the competition continued to tighten. Mike Lacey takes you through all this and more in this week’s Rapid wrap.
Matthews Magic Lifts Giants in Double Overtime
NBS Nelson Giants won a double-overtime thriller 48-45 against Manawatu Jets in the Round 11 opener, with James Matthews the star of the show.
Making the game-winning three in the second period of overtime, the Giants point guard posted his Rapid League best 23 points.
The Giants started well, advancing an 18-11 first-quarter lead to 30-25 at half-time.
The Jets had the better of the third to be in front 39-35 with a quarter to play, only for a brace of Zach Rampton scores to tie the contest in regulation.
Matthews and Rampton free throws pushed the Giants into the lead, only for Lukah Richards to again level the contest.
Into the second additional overtime spell, it was Matthews who produced the game decider!
NBS Nelson Giants 48 – James Matthews 23pts, Elijah Inwood 10pts & 7rebs, Zach Rampton 9pts
Manawatu Jets 45 – Boston Caldwell 14pts, Hamza Zahran 14pts, Lukah Richards 9pts, Christian McDaniel 2pts, 9rebs & 5asts
Hill Makes Instant Impact as Airs Edge Sharks
In another close encounter, Taranaki Airs pipped Southland Sharks 29-27 in Invercargill, with new signing Nico Hill making an instant impact.
Trailing 23-22 at three-quarter time, Hill, returning to the Airs for the first time since 2024, scored back-to-back baskets in the fourth to edge the visitors ahead. With Zavier Adam converting from deep, the Sharks were left with too much to do.
Hill finished with a dozen points while Dane Bertinshaw, the game’s leading scorer with 15 points, almost single-handedly kept the Sharks in the contest.
Southland Sharks 27 – Dane Bertinshaw 15pts, Tautoko Wynyard 3pts & 6rebs
Taranaki Airs 29 – Nico Hill 12pts, Zavier Adam 5pts, Lyric Tuhaka 5pts, Luka Vea 5pts
Whai Hold Their Nerve in Christchurch
In Christchurch, in a game in which the lead changed or the scores were tied on 14 occasions, Tauranga Whai eventually prevailed 36-29 against Mad Butcher Canterbury Rams.
Cole Hopoi scored on the stroke of half-time and immediately afterwards to give the Whai an 18-14 advantage. Ben Marsh and Brody Cooper were then successful with three-point efforts before CJ Flavell’s drive and make gave the visitors a 25-23 three-quarter-time lead.
Scores from Marsh, Cooper and Tony Worthington meant the Rams’ deficit remained within a single possession before Jett Thompson and Mike Wade combined to settle the contest in favour of the Whai.
Mad Butcher Canterbury Rams 29 – Ben Marsh 10pts, Brody Cooper 8pts, Tony Worthington 6pts & 5rebs, Gus Dallow 3pts & 5asts
Tauranga Whai 36 – Cole Hopoi 11pts, Jett Thompson 10pts, Kiani Saxon 5pts, Mike Wade 4pts & 3stls
Tuatara Bounce Back to Stay Top
Auckland Tuatara remain top of the Rapid League table after a 45-33 home win against Total Energies Hawks.
Maz Taylor, playing his first game of the season for the Hawks, knocked down a first-half three, but eight first-half points from KC Ioane took the Tuatara to a 22-14 lead at the interval.
Ezrah Eagle dropped a long three for the Hawks, although Dylan Wilkie matched the effort as the Tuatara eased to a healthy 33-24 advantage.
On the back of a brace of Jacob Murphy threes early in the fourth, the Hawks threatened a late comeback, only for points from Mattie Dalton and Josh Wyllie to snuff that out – Tuatara back to winning ways after a loss to the Saints in Round 10.
Auckland Tuatara 45 – Dylan Wilkie 12pts, KC Ioane 10pts, Mattie Dalton 8pts, Josh Leger 7pts, 9rebs & 4asts
Total Energies Hawks 33 – Jacob Murphy 8pts, Ezrah Eagle 7pts, Maz Taylor 7pts, Kobe Kara 5pts
McKenzie Masterclass Powers Nuggets
Zach McKenzie put together a standout performance to guide Otago Nuggets to a fifth straight win as they beat Taranaki Airs 38-28 in Dunedin.
The Otago forward scored 22 points on 7-from-10 shooting and added 7 rebounds and 6 steals.
After the scores were tied at 17-all at half-time, McKenzie scored six points in the third spell to match the effort of Taranaki’s Nico Hill, with the Nuggets 27-25 to the good at the three-quarter mark.
The Airs’ scoring virtually ground to a halt in the fourth, but the same can’t be said of McKenzie, who topped an outstanding display by draining a brace of threes – the Nuggets very much in title contention.
Otago Nuggets 38 – Zach McKenzie 22pts, 7rebs & 6stls, Toby Hunt 7pts, Caleb Smiler 3pts, 5rebs & 5asts
Taranaki Airs 28 – Nico Hill 12pts, Quintin Bailey 6pts, Luka Vea 3pts & 6rebs
Bulls Snap Skid in Overtime
Payton Hughes made a triple in the overtime period as Franklin Bulls snapped a five-game losing streak to beat Wellington Saints 41-38 in overtime in Pukekohe.
Reflective of how close the contest was, the scores were tied at the end of all four quarters in regulation.
The bouncy Aubrey Chunga threw down one of three athletic dunks to open the game and Arahi Marsh scored 8 points as the opening period was tied 11 points apiece in a tight affair. The Bulls looked to have grabbed a sliver of a lead before a Sam Gold triple on the stroke of half-time meant it was 19-all at the main break.
Hunter Savill and Braydon Iuli exchanged triples to make it 26-26 at three-quarter time, and with the Saints edging ahead in the fourth it was a pair of Zion Anderson free throws, with half a second to play, that sent the game into overtime.
Hughes, the Bulls’ all-time leading Rapid League scorer, then had the final say.
Franklin Bulls 41 – Arahi Marsh 11pts, Hunter Te Ratana 7pts, 5asts & 3stls, Hunter Savill 7pts, Payton Hughes 6pts, Zion Anderson 5pts & 6rebs
Wellington Saints 38 – Sam Gold 8pts & 2blks, Hassan Munir 8pts & 5asts, Alex Blackmore 7pts, Aubrey Chunga 7pts
Casson Leads Hawks Past Sharks
Balin Casson made a Rapid League best 10 points as Total Energies Hawks defeated Southland Sharks 36-29 in Napier to close out the Round 11 action.
Casson opened the scoring and had 8 points in the opening half as the Hawks built a 21-12 lead.
Dane Bertinshaw and Quake Webster, playing his 50th game, gave some bite to the Sharks’ offence with consecutive threes, but Maz Taylor ensured the Hawks had a sizeable 29-20 three-quarter-time lead.
Fifteen-year-old Kees Ball, on debut, and Kobe Costley added to the Hawks’ advantage before the Sharks hit back through Webster and Bertinshaw again, but it was too little too late!
Total Energies Hawks 36 – Balin Casson 10pts & 6rebs, Kobe Costley 8pts & 6asts, Maz Taylor 5pts, Ezrah Eagle 5pts
Southland Sharks 29 – Dane Bertinshaw 12pts, Quake Webster 7pts & 3asts, Will Leger 6pts & 8rebs
Simply Rapid
Nelson Giants guard James Matthews piled on a Rapid League best 23 points against the Jets, although Nuggets forward Zach McKenzie put up the stat line of the round with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals.
Other Rapid Milestones
Tuatara
Dylan Wilkie, with a dozen points against the Hawks, became the first Tuatara player to score 300 points.
Whai
Jett Thompson played his 50th Rapid League game for the Whai against Canterbury Rams, the first Whai player to reach this mark.
Airs
Nico Hill, with 24 points in his two Round 11 outings, became the third Airs player – after Riley Tuuta and Quintin Bailey – to score 200 points.
Sharks
Quake Webster became the first player from the Sharks to make 50 Rapid League appearances with his appearance against the Hawks last round.
Leading Scorers this season
148 Boston Caldwell (Jets)
131 Elijah Inwood (Giants)
126 Jett Thompson (Whai)
124 Hassan Munir (Saints)
121 Dylan Wilkie (Tuatara)
120 Jacob Murphy (Hawks)
119 Riley Tuuta (Airs)
117 Quake Webster (Sharks)
113 Hamza Zahran (Jets)
111 Payton Hughes (Bulls)
111 Josh Leger (Tuatara)
107 James Matthews (Giants)
All-time Rapid League Most Points
508 Tyson Thata-Paese (Saint/Jets/Nuggets)
412 Jacob Murphy (Hawks)
334 Mana Martin (Rams)
323 Jett Thompson (Whai)
305 Hayden Jones (Giants)
303 Dylan Wilkie (Tuatara)
299 Josh Leger (Tuatara)
287 Kazlo Evans Jr (Manawatu Jets)
275 Quake Webster (Sharks)
267 James Matthews (Giants)
261 Scott Telfer (Airs/Sharks)
254 Kobe Kara (Hawks)