He is the Otago-Southland club development officer for Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, and answered an SOS to help with the grim task.
But before Cyclone Gabrielle swept across the North Island, washing away homes, businesses and, sadly, lives, the Otago Daily Times caught up with the successful coach for a wide-ranging chat.
He led the Nuggets to their first National Basketball League (NBL) title proper last year and he talked about how the roster was shaping and how much better resourced the team is from some of the previous sides.
Centres Sam Timmins and Jack Andrew are the only confirmed signings, but more are in the pipeline.
A good core of the Dunedin-based players are expected to return to defend the title they helped to capture last year.
News about Nikau McCullough sounded less promising. Matehaere said he was not sure whether the talented guard would return.
As for the import mix, there was likely to be some changes.
"We’ve had negotiations go on through the summer and we’ll see how those play out," Matehaere said, adding the franchise and some of the players "may drift in different directions".
Matehaere has stayed in close contact with defensive maestro Todd Withers, who is playing for the Texas Legends in the NBA G League.
The forward is understood to have enjoyed his time in Dunedin, and is keen to return.
Guard Tray Boyd III made a big impact when he replaced Tahjere McCall and is playing in the Pro B league in France for Vichy-Clermont, where he leads the league in points per game with 23.7.
Keith Williams, who starred in the final with a game-high 34 points, had an offer to play in Poland, but Matehaere was not sure whether he had taken it up.
Whether they return or not, they will always have a special place in Nuggets’ history.
Last year’s historic win "hit home" for Matehaere when all the "well wishes and congratulations" started flowing.
"It was pretty special to have the full NBL championship for the region, but also for all those that had come before us and toiled away, some with not much success."
The Nuggets won the NBL Showdown in 2020. But that campaign was very different. Covid forced the organisers into a dramatic rethink and three of the top teams — Wellington, Southland and Hawke's Bay — opted out.
It was still a title, but last year’s effort will always be seen as more legit, to use a basketball term.
One of the big differences was the class of 2022 was better resourced.
The Nuggets pulled out of the 2009 league for financial reasons. They returned in 2010, but serious financial problems re-emerged in 2014, which nearly sent Basketball Otago bust.
The association avoided liquidation thanks to an eleventh-hour deal. But the Nuggets spent the next five seasons in the wilderness.
Earlier attempts to revive the franchise fell short. But the team was thrown a lifeline by the league during Covid and went on to win the NBL Showdown and re-establish itself in the NBL the following season.
Sport Entertainment Network New Zealand (SENZ) acquired the Nuggets in November 2021.
SENZ, whose Australian parent company owns the Perth Wildcats, brought more commercial opportunities and operational support. The pot of money grew and that provided "the ability for us to put players on the court of high quality and train in a professional manner".
For some of the teams in the past that would have been a pipe dream.
For the fans and the community, it meant something else as well.
"They can have confidence it is not something they are going to invest in and then it is going to drop away and we lose our team again."
