Ten Indigenous youth from Walgett PCYC and two advisors made the 800 kilometre trip to Sydney to watch the highly anticipated clash between National Basketball League (NBL) teams the Sydney Kings and the Tasmania JackJumpers on Sunday 11 December.

The head to head match was apart of the NBL22 champion's annual Indigenous Round fixture, which spanned across Rounds 14 and 15 of NBL22.

The young basketball fans travelled to Sydney on Friday 9 December and were able to experience all that the big smoke had to offer.

They attended Sydney's famous sites including Luna Park and the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as attending the Qudos Bank Arena to watch and meet players from the Sydney Kings NBL team.

Amanda Harrison Club Manager of PCYC Walgett said the experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the chosen students from PCYC Walgett.

"The kids were chosen based off attendance, good behaviour, hard work and respect. All of them were also die- hard basketball fanatics," she said.

"On Saturday the kids' attended Luna Park for the first time and on Sunday the kids' attended their first NBL game in a stadium they have never been to, with more people attending than ten times Walgett's population- combine the atmosphere, the crowd and the players in their Indigenous jerseys and it was all very special," Ms Harrison said.

Qudos Bank Arena was packed with basketball fans, all together the stadium held more than ten times the population of Walgett. PHOTO: PCYC Walgett.  

The PCYC youth members did not only get to watch their favourite basketball players in action, but they also got to personally meet them.

"A lot of the kids were just wrapped to be invited to Sydney to watch the game live, but to be able to meet professional basketballers as well was a huge honour for them," Ms Harrison said.

"They are all huge basketball fans. They were in awe of the stadium. At the very beginning of the game they were very quiet and unsure. However by the end they were loud and praising their favourite players on the field. The actual basketball game was close, with Sydney Kings losing by just one point. It was a great game to be able to watch live.

"After the game, they were able to speak to a lot of players who had very similar back stories to what they did. There were a lot of stories that the kids could connect to. Their favourite Sydney Kings basketball player was Biwali Bayles. He gave the kids great advice, which will further inspire them to believe that they can achieve anything they put their mind too- no goals or dreams are out of reach or too hard to achieve," she said.

PCYC Walgett students posing with Sydney Kings NBL players Biwali Bayles, Archie Woodhill and Dejan Vasiljevic. PHOTO: PCYC Walgett.

Ms Harrison praises the NBL's Indigenous Round initiative.

"Initiatives like the NBL’s Indigenous Round is a great opportunity to highlight the role that First Nations people play within their sporting clubs and the wider community, to young people who go to watch them play, wear their jersey and see them as role models - being an identifiable link between them, their players and their team.

"It will show them that it doesn't matter where you come from or what your background is, but if you put your mind to something you can be successful," Ms Harrison said.

"Since returning to Walgett, I have even had one of the boys approach me stating that he would like to start volunteering with the PCYC. He said he wants to inspire other kids to work hard so they can also be given great experiences like the NBL Sydney trip," she said.