Posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2026
Rapid Wrap: Round 3
Round 3 Rapid Wrap
Round 3 of the 2026 Rapid League featured a massive eight-game schedule and, after its completion, only the Tauranga Whai remain unbeaten.
The Whai successfully navigated the Southern Swing with wins against the Otago Nuggets and Southland Sharks to top the table with a 4-0 record.
Hawks Steal Game at the Buzzer
In the opening game of the round, a buzzer-beater from Jacob Murphy secured the Total Energies Hawks a 39-37 home win over the Mad Butcher Canterbury Rams.
Mana Martin had given the Rams a 33-30 lead approaching the midpoint of the fourth quarter before, in a game of fluctuating fortunes, the Hawks hit back through Murphy and Balin Casson.
Kobe Kara made it 37-34 in favour of the hosts, only for Martin to tie proceedings with 18 seconds to play. Following a timeout, it fell to Murphy, the Hawks’ Rapid League all-time leading scorer, to make the winning play. He didn’t disappoint the home fans as he nailed the shot to seal the victory.
The Hawks led 21-19 at half-time and were still two points ahead, 29-27, at the three-quarter mark. Martin scored all but one of the Rams’ 10 points in the fourth, but his, and the Rams’, effort came up just short.
Total Energies Hawks 39 – Jacob Murphy 13pts, Kobe Kara 7pts & 4asts, Balin Casson 6pts, Ezrah Eagle 5pts
Mad Butcher Canterbury Rams 37 – Mana Martin 16pts, Brody Cooper 6pts, Tawhiri Cate 5pts
Whai Hold Nuggets Off Down the Stretch
Two unbeaten teams went head-to-head in Dunedin, where Jett Thompson paced the Whai to a tight 38-34 win against the Otago Nuggets. In addition to a game-high 15 points, the Whai playmaker added 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Thompson had 10 points at half-time as the Whai established a 21-16 lead ahead of the third spell, which was tied as both sides scored seven points.
Christian Martin cancelled out a Flynn Rapson triple and, when Zach McKenzie scored his sixth point of the final quarter, the Nuggets trailed by just three points, 35-32, with a minute to play.
A Geordie Hoeata dunk made the margin five, only for Caleb Smiler to make it a one-possession game with 17 seconds to play.
After the Nuggets were forced to foul to stop the clock, it was fitting that Thompson iced the Whai victory from the free-throw line.
Otago Nuggets 34 – Toby Hunt 8pts, Zach McKenzie 7pts, Caleb Smiler 7pts, Tyson Thata-Paese 7pts
Tauranga Whai 38 – Jett Thompson 15pts, 6rebs & 4asts, CJ Flavell 5pts & 5rebs, Flynn Rapson 5pts
Rams Clinch First Win of Season
In the first of three games on Anzac Day, the Mad Butcher Canterbury Rams recorded a hard-fought 36-32 win against the Franklin Bulls in Pukekohe.
In his first game of the season, Dom Kelman-Poto scored with both his initial touch and opening three-point attempt, although 13 first-half points from Mana Martin gave the Rams a narrow 15-14 lead.
The Rams then took a decisive hold of proceedings in the third, with Brody Cooper and Gus Dallow, enjoying being back in the City of Sails, scoring seven points and six respectively to open up a 32-22 lead.
Corey Perry and Tai Pakaurangi trimmed the deficit in the fourth before the ever-dependable Mana Martin sealed the Mainlanders’ first win of the season.
Franklin Bulls 32 – Dom Kelman-Poto 7pts, Tai Pakaurangi 7pts, Payton Hughes 5pts, Arahi Marsh 5pts & 3blks
Mad Butcher Canterbury Rams 36 – Mana Martin 15pts, Brody Cooper 9pts, Gus Dallow 6pts, Tawhiri Cate 4pts, 7rebs & 3stls
Jets Deal Tuatara First Rapid Loss
For the second time in as many games, Boston Caldwell played a decisive hand for the Cook Street Manawatū Jets, this time as they took down the Auckland Tuatara 42-36 in Palmerston North.
Caldwell followed up his 21 point game against the Hawks in the previous round with 16 points in this one.
Leading 24-23 at half-time, it was a decisive third period that enabled the Jets to take control of the game. Three-point plays from Caldwell, Reuben Leota and Ihaia Abbott sprung the hosts to an eight-point advantage ahead of the fourth.
Scores from Josh Leger and Dylan Wilkie kept the Tuatara in contention before Caldwell sealed a third win in four outings for the Jets.
Cook Street Manawatū Jets 42 – Boston Caldwell 16pts, Reuben Leota 11pts & 6rebs, Ihaia Abbott 6pts
Auckland Tuatara 36 – Josh Wyllie 9pts, Kingston Kailahi-Aso 9pts, Josh Leger 7pts, Dylan Wilkie 5pts
Saints Rebound Late to Topple Giants
Despite Sam Dempster producing a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in his first Rapid League game of the season, the NBS Nelson Giants were beaten 38-36 by the Wellington Saints.
It was one that got away for the defending champions. Inside the last 30 seconds, with the scores tied at 36 points apiece, the Giants committed a turnover and then compounded the error as they gave up four offensive rebounds before Saints wing Darius Latu made a putback two-pointer to steal the win on the buzzer.
With Hassan Munir and Sam Gold in excellent touch, the Saints led by nine points in the first half and were still 32-29 in the ascendancy with a quarter to play.
James Matthews, Elijah Inwood and Dempster then carried the Giants into the lead before Alex Blackmore tied proceedings.
Both teams had opportunities to seal the win in the closing 90 seconds, but it was Latu who proved to be the right man in the right place to make it three wins on the bounce for the Saints.
NBS Nelson Giants 36 – Sam Dempster 11pts, 10rebs & 4asts, Elijah Inwood 10pts, Cooper Adams 6pts, Josh Nickel 5pts
Wellington Saints 38 – Hassan Munir 15pts & 4stls, Sam Gold 6pts, Alex Blackmore 5pts, Darius Latu 5pts & 8rebs
Whai Rally Stifles Sharks
Tauranga Whai kept the Sharks scoreless in the final three minutes and scored the final seven points to sweep to a 41-39 come-from-behind win against the Southland Sharks in Invercargill.
It was a win that owed much to the tenacity of Jett Thompson. The Rapid League’s leading scorer came up with a crucial steal and a game-tying triple inside the final 90 seconds. Jayden Bezzant then made the go-ahead basket, with the Whai hanging on for a fourth straight win.
Earlier, Will Leger, Jack Ramage, Dane Bertinshaw and Quake Webster had all made valuable contributions as the Sharks established a 31-24 lead in the third period. They then led 39-34 in the fourth before Thompson and the Whai took charge down the stretch.
Southland Sharks 39 – Will Leger 12pts, 6rebs & 4asts, Jack Ramage 9pts, Dane Bertinshaw 9pts, Quake Webster 6pts
Tauranga Whai 41 – Jett Thompson 19pts, Jayden Bezzant 10pts, Flynn Rapson 4pts
Bulls Keep Airs Winless
The Taranaki Airs are still searching for their first win of the season after going down 40-28 to the Franklin Bulls in New Plymouth.
Playing his first game of the season, Brody Perry top-scored with 11 points, with his Bulls outfit racing to a 22-5 advantage 90 seconds into the second quarter.
It threatened to get ugly at that stage for the young Airs outfit but, to their credit, they put together an 11-0 run up to half-time and remained in contention until Perry hit his third triple with a couple of minutes to play.
It was a rounded performance from the Bulls, with five players contributing six points or more, including 17-year-old Hunter Savill, who posted seven points in just his second appearance.
For the third time this season, Riley Tuuta top-scored for the Airs with nine points, while the industrious Jerome Tamatea was next best with six points.
Taranaki Airs 28 – Riley Tuuta 9pts, Jerome Tamatea 6pts, Hayden Carr 4pts
Franklin Bulls 40 – Brody Perry 11pts, Payton Hughes 8pts, Hunter Savill 7pts, Tai Pakaurangi 6pts, KC Nwafor 6pts & 9rebs
Tuatara Boune Back Over Saints
In the final game of the round, the Wellington Saints lost their first game of the season, suffering a 36-26 home defeat at the hands of the Auckland Tuatara.
Following an Alex Blackmore basket, the Saints trailed by just a single point, 17-16, before being outscored 14-0 over the next five and a half minutes.
Kingston Kailahi-Aso scored either side of half-time, Dylan Wilkie drained a triple and, when Josh Leger, headed for a game-high 11 points, nailed an even deeper three on the stroke of three-quarter time, the Tuatara lead was 31-16.
Blackmore, debutant Arana Robertson and birthday boy Arthur Pilcher made a dent in the deficit, but it wasn’t significant enough to concern the Tuatara.
Wellington Saints 26 – Alex Blackmore 5pts, Arana Robertson 5pts, Sam Gold 5pts
Auckland Tuatara 36 – Josh Leger 11pts & 7rebs, Josh Wyllie 8pts, Dylan Wilkie 8pts, Kingston Kailahi-Aso 7pts
League standings:
4-0 Whai
3-1 Jets, Tuatara, Saints
2-1 Nuggets
2-2 Hawks, Bulls
1-2 Giants
1-3 Rams
0-4 Sharks, Airs
Simply Rapid
Jett Thompson tallied the best individual score of the round with 19 points for Tauranga Whai against the Southland Sharks.
He leads the Rapid League in scoring with 49 points and has overtaken Te Tuhi Lewis as Whai’s all-time leading Rapid League scorer. Lewis scored 240 points before heading overseas to focus on his 3×3 career. Thompson now has 246 points.
Rapid Milestones
With six points against Tauranga Whai, Quake Webster has become the first Southland Sharks player to score 200 Rapid League points.
The race to become the first player to play 50 Rapid League games appears to be a three-horse race between Tyson Thata-Paese, Jacob Murphy and Jett Thompson.
All-time Rapid League most appearances
42 Tyson Thata-Paese (Saints/Jets/Nuggets)
42 Jacob Murphy (Hawks)
41 Jett Thompson (Whai)
39 Quake Webster (Sharks)
39 Caleb Smiler (Nuggets)
38 Rangimarie Dougall-Mita (Saints)
37 Josh Leger (Tuatara)
37 Nick Barrow (Tuatara)
37 Aston Inwood (Giants)
36 Harri Coker-Grey (Bulls)
35 Kazlo Evans Jr (Saints/Jets)
35 Jayden Boucher
All-time Rapid League leading scorers
433 Tyson Thata-Paese (Saints/Jets/Nuggets)
327 Jacob Murphy (Hawks)
305 Hayden Jones (Giants)
287 Kazlo Evans Jr (Saints/Jets)
277 Mana Martin (Rams)
261 Scott Telfer (Airs/Sharks)
246 Jett Thompson (Whai)
245 Mac Stodart (Rams/Nuggets/Sharks)
240 Te Tuhi Lewis (Whai)
237 Tama Isaac (Rams)
228 Rangimarie Dougall-Mita (Saints)
223 Dylan Wilkie (Tuatara)
220 Josh Leger (Tuatara)
219 Kobe Kara (Airs)