With the Schick 3×3 Cup tipping off next week, let’s take a pool-by-pool look at how each team stacks up in this exciting competition.
How it works: The Schick 3×3 Cup features 32 teams – 16 in the men’s division and 16 in the women’s – facing off over four days to determine the overall men’s and women’s winners. Teams are divided into two pools (Pool A and Pool B) in each division, with squads playing each other once within their pool over the first three days and seven games in total.
At the end of pool play, the top-ranked team in each pool faces the bottom-ranked team in the opposed pool in a knockout-style playoff round, culminating in a finals game between the last two teams remaining.
Let’s preview a stacked Men’s Pool A:
Auckland Tuatara: As one of five Sal’s NBL teams in this pool, the Tuatara will look to make a splash in this tournament. Sharpshooter Chris McIntosh stands out as their most experienced 3×3 player with the guard winning the Shoot-out competition earlier this year at the FIBA 3X3 World Tour Manila Masters. Joining McIntosh are Tuatara guards Tom Beattie and Reuben Fitzgerald, with development player Liam Judd also on board from the Bulls as part of an intriguing (and risky) all-guard line-up.
Franklin Bulls: The Bulls will be led by their star player Jayden Bezzant – who wowed fans this year in both the five on five setting (with Franklin and the Tall Blacks) and in 3×3 – appearing in both the FIBA 3×3 World Cup and Commonwealth Games for the latter. JB will be joined by a trio of Bull’s teammates in 6’9” centre Josh Leger and 19-year-olds Jett Thompson and Christian Martin, giving Franklin a solid inside-outside presence.
Hawke’s Bay Hawks: Is this the team to beat in Pool A? Ethan Rusbatch is possibly the competition’s most accomplished athlete and a known gunner, and he’ll be joined by fellow Tall Blacks veteran Jarrod Kenny; giving Hawke’s Bay arguably the best one-two punch in the Cup. Ezra Smiler completes a solid Hawks trio, with ex-Hawks guard James Levings returning to the fold. They’ll seek revenge after their thrilling Finals loss in the 2020 Edition of the Schick 3×3 Cup.
Otago Nuggets: Fresh off of winning the Sal’s NBL Championship, a trio of Nuggets return to the court for the Schick 3×3 Cup. Nikau McCullough is the undisputed star of this squad, with the guard excelling for the 3×3 Tall Blacks in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup this year – earning a call-up to the five on five Tall Blacks in the process. Matt Bardsley brings in a skill-set that looks tailor-made for the 3×3 setting, while young forward Robert Coman will have space to operate down low. The Nuggets await confirmation of their fourth player.
Wellington Saints: The Saints will be led by Tall Black’s big man Taane Samuel, whose size and outside shooting ability should be well-suited for the 3×3 game. Joining Samuel from the Saints are sharpshooter Kenneth Tuffin and Johnny Helu – alongside with Nathaniel Salmon coming in from the Jets – giving this squad an enviable amount of shooting and ball-handling ability. Expect this team to turn a few heads over the first three days of pool play.
Waikato University: The trio of Daniel Dobson, Jayden Taufale and Te Maire Van Der Leden return to the Waikato Uni jersey, following a fifth place finish in the recent Tertiary Nationals Championships; Van Der Leden also seeing some time for the Bulls in 2021 as a development player. Pita King joins this squad, having last appeared for Waikato in the 2021 U23’s tournament. Although this squad lacks top-level experience, they may surprise a few teams with their ability – watch this space.
West Coast Rapids: A new entrant into the Schick 3×3 Cup, the Rapids come into this comp with young Canterbury Rams guard Kaia Isaac as the most notable name on its roster. Ben Hall (Rams player in 2021) is also a known 3×3 player who appeared in last year’s Seven Stars Invitational – as well as representing the Rams in the 2020 edition of the Schick 3×3 Cup – while Jared Hibbs lit up the Westland Basketball Association last year with an incredible 75 point effort. Kieran Russell is also a prominent baller from the West Coast, with the squad coming into the Cup hoping to catch other teams unaware.
Whai: The Whai joins the Schick 3×3 Cup in advance of their 2024 entry into the Sal’s NBL. They’ll be led by Tai Wynyard, with the 6’10” Taranaki Airs centre and Tall Black a well-known athlete on the 3×3 world stage – thanks to his massive efforts in the 3×3 World Cup and Commonwealth Games. Mitch Dance (6’4”) joins Wynyard from the Bulls, with the Bulls duo of Zach Mackenzie (6’8”) and Te Tuhi Lewis (6’5”) giving Whai the tallest line-up in the competition.
