The Adelaide 36ers had some unfinished business at Afterpay Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The last time they played the Sydney Kings, Sydney had beaten them in overtime in the deciding game of last season's Grand Final series. Now they were back, facing the defending champions, who had started the new season with three straight wins.
It was my fourth Kings home game in four rounds, and I was beginning to get familiar with the place.
The crowd was noticeably bigger this time. The official attendance was 13,365, and the arena looked and sounded busier than on my previous visits. A Sunday three o'clock start probably helped. It's a convenient time for families, with the game finished and everyone heading home well before the evening was over.
I'd finally received my membership cap, too. Along with the purple Dellavedova shirt I'd bought at an earlier game, I was now looking a little more like a regular Kings supporter.
This time I was sitting at the very back of the lower section, towards one end of the court but slightly off to the side. It was higher than my previous seat near the floor, without putting me up in the upper seating.
It might be my favourite position so far.
There was enough height to follow most of the court without obstruction, while still being reasonably close to the action. Sitting at an angle rather than directly behind the basket also gave me a good view of both ends.
It wasn't particularly good at any one thing, though. Not as close as sitting near the court, nor as high as the upper seating. Somewhere in between, which might be exactly why I liked it.
The air conditioning was another matter.
Being in the back row, I seemed to be sitting directly in the path of cold air coming from behind me. After arriving from the warmth outside, it was pleasant at first, but eventually became annoying.
There were two Adelaide supporters sitting directly in front of me, one wearing a 36ers home jersey. They were surrounded by Kings supporters but seemed perfectly happy to make themselves heard.
Whenever Adelaide made a three-pointer or found a good drive to the basket, they were cheering. They were also quick to call out what they thought were travelling violations by Sydney players.
They had a distinctive little gesture whenever someone attempted a three-pointer, raising an arm and flicking the hand forward as though following the ball towards the basket. It's something I've seen before, but not a gesture I'd particularly noticed among Kings supporters.
I don't know whether it was an Adelaide habit or simply something these two liked doing.
Their cheers were often in direct contrast to the reactions around them. While they were celebrating an Adelaide play, the surrounding Kings supporters might be booing, grumbling or protesting the same decision.
Most of the time, though, their voices were simply lost in the much larger Sydney crowd.
They'd come with a mate who enjoyed reminding them of the score whenever Sydney regained the lead. To their credit, the Adelaide supporters also applauded some good Kings plays. They seemed to know their basketball and were enjoying themselves, even if there was no doubt which team they wanted to win.
It was a different game from the three I'd attended previously.
Sydney had won each of those, but this was the first time I'd watched them under sustained pressure for an entire afternoon. Neither team could establish much breathing room, and the crowd responded to every change in momentum.
There was a tension that hadn't been present in quite the same way during my earlier visits.
It also gave me another opportunity to understand the game a little better.
I'm becoming more conscious of the importance of three-point shooting, particularly when two teams are otherwise closely matched. Adelaide were making those shots far more successfully than Sydney. Looking at the statistics afterwards, the 36ers had made seventeen three-pointers to the Kings' eight.
I'd certainly noticed the difference during the game, not least because of the celebrations taking place directly in front of me.
During the fourth quarter, with the game still closely contested, Sydney's 2025–26 championship banner appeared on the Megatron.
It was a cheeky reminder of what had happened the last time these teams met, and the Kings crowd responded enthusiastically.
It didn't change the direction of the game.
The tension eventually spilled over in the final minute when Kendric Davis and Adelaide's Bryce Cotton became involved in a confrontation. Both received unsportsmanlike fouls, an unpleasant conclusion to an afternoon that had been competitive throughout.
Adelaide won 84–78, handing Sydney its first defeat of the season.
The two Adelaide supporters in front of me had spent most of the afternoon cheering into a largely unreceptive sea of purple.
This time, they had the last laugh.
