Basketball: Airs propel past Hawks to be two from two

Basketball NZ

Photo by: John Velvin

Much like their Rapid League counterpart, the Big Barrel Hawke's Bay Hawks came out of the gate with a strong 11-2 lead on the backs of buckets from Dan Grida, Keanu Rasmussen and Kyle Adnam.

A few threes from the Airs would bring them back into and the two teams would continue to battle it out. Once up 9, the Hawks would only have a 3 points lead going into the 2nd.

Aaron Cook Jr., who last game didn't have the greatest scoring output (although he totaled 9 assists), would show he's a threat as going into the half he led his team in both points (10) and assists (5).

Keanu Rasmussen also having himself a good first half with 16 points, accumulated by going 6-7 from within the arc.

While the Hawks had the lead going into the half, they would continue to struggle from 3. Shooting just 16%.

The second half would go in favour of the Airs. They figured themselves out offensively and defensively putting up 34 points while keeping the Hawks to 19 points.

Some buckets from Dan Grida and a couple of 3's from Burton would keep the Hawks in it, but it would be Aaron Cook Jr and Marcel Jones to lead the to the win.

HOME TEAM: Aaron Cook Jr. (17p, 14a, 4s), Marcel Jones (18p, 13r), Taane Samuel (15p, 4r, 3a)

AWAY TEAM: Dan Grida (23p, 9r, 5a), Keanu Rasmussen (18p, 3r, 3a, 3s), Kyle Adnam (15p, 4r, 6a)

MVP Votes:

Aaron Cook Jr. (Airs) - 10
Marcel Jones (Airs) - 6
Dan Grida (Hawks) - 5
Luka Vea (Airs) - 3
Keanu Rasmussen (Hawks) - 3
Taane Samuel (Airs) - 3

Rapid League game:

Result: Taranaki Airs (20) are defeated by TotalEnergies Hawks (52)

Size was the story to begin for both teams. Clifton Bush III for the Hawks had his way with the interior defence as his 8 points in 3 mins would help the Hawks get off to a 18-4 lead to end the first quarter. The second quarter would be a very similar story. The Hawks built the largest lead of the 2026 Rapid League season, with a 35-10 difference and would continue to build. Six Hawks players would finish with 6+ points, with Clifton Bush III leading the way with 12 points and 9 rebounds in 13 minutes.

Leading Players

Taranaki Airs: Riley Tuuta (7p), Hayden Carr (6p, 2r)

TotalEnergies Hawks: Clifton Bush III (12p, 9r), Isaac Allen (11p, 3r, 2s), Balin Casson (9p, 2r, 2s)

Rapid League MVP Votes:

Clifton Bush III (Hawks) - 10
Jacob Murphy (Hawks) - 6
Issac Allen (Hawks) - 4
Kobe Kara (Hawks) - 4
Hayden Carr (Airs) - 3
Riley Tuuta (Airs) - 2
Zavier Pearn (Airs) - 1