TONG See Koou could have taken up the option of relaxing in his elderly years.
But his love for basketball prompted the 70-year-old to put his retirement on hold to take up the role of Malaysia Basketball Association (Maba) secretary general.
It is a new role for the man, fondly known as "Headmaster" among the Malaysian basketball community as he served for many years as a schoolteacher and headmaster in Selangor.
See Koou, who is also a respected former FIBA referee and technical commissioner, is more than ready for the new challenge.
"People always called me 'Headmaster' because I was a teacher and I was also headmaster at schools in Rawang and Bangi back in the days," he recalled.
"When I was a teacher in my 20s, I was asked to teach physical education and in order to do the job properly, I also took up the referee course and eventually became a referee.
"It definitely wasn't my plan and I certainly didn't imagine that I would go on to become a FIBA-accredited referee," said See Koou who has more than 30 years in refereeing and over 10 years as a technical commissioner.
"In fact, having turned 70 last year, I was supposed to be completely retired from all basketball activities.
"But when the then-deputy president Datuk Wira Tan Kang Yong asked me to take up the role as secretary general, I couldn't really refuse as it is really a great honour for me to serve the sport.
"Since I've always been more inclined towards the technical aspect of the sport, administrative work would be something rather new to me.
"But I'm ready to learn and I hope that I do not disappoint and will be able to do my best in helping the sport keep growing."
There are certainly many issues to tackle within Maba as Malaysian basketball has been on a sharp decline in recent years.
For starters, See Koou hopes to help resolve an issue that has plagued local basketball — infighting among state affiliates.
"For too long, state affiliates have always been fighting with each other over players' registration, especially when it concerns the Agong Cup and Malaysia Games," said See Koou.
"That has really hampered the growth of the sport and I hope I can sit down with all the state affiliates to resolve this eventually."