He started playing the game seriously as a 16-year-old and even though time has peeled off another 30 years, Brendon Pongia still "loves the game".
That game is basketball and the likeable Pongia carved out an impressive career, both at National Basketball League level (NBL) level and as a member of the New Zealand Tall Blacks.
He's at the Masters Games playing for a team called Washed Up, but don't let that moniker fool you. It's a solid side playing in the 35-plus men's division. As well as himself, there's another ex-Tall Black - 44-year-old Dave Langrell - and a handful of former Canterbury Rams players.
"I had a phone call from them and they asked me to come and play. Actually one of the Wanganui teams rang me an hour later otherwise I'd have been playing for one of the local teams," he said.
He hasn't touched a ball for about 12 months. The last time he "really played" was at the Hoop Classic two years ago.