Former Tall Black kept in the hoop

SMOOTH AS SILK: Former Tall Black Brendon Pongia is only playing basketball socially these days but he still possesses a smooth shot. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO 310115WCSMMASTERS7

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.

"I'll be a bit rusty to start off but I love this game and I still want to win."

Non-basketball fans will probably remember Pongia as dance partner for Haley Holt in the TV series Dancing With the Stars in 2007. He was co-host of the TV ONE Good Morning show.

Pongia started playing for the Waikato men's team as a 16-year-old. That was followed by 16 years in the NBL. He's one of five players who notched up more than 300 games in that league. In that timeframe he played nine years for the Tall Blacks .

"It's in my blood, mate. I've hardly slept for the last couple of nights just thinking about getting back out on the court and playing again."

He's still a shooting guard and hasn't lost his silky shot beyond the three-point arc.

And he intends to keep playing, even though at a more social pace.

"Why not."