## 4 Discussion  
The present study monitored and compared IL, EL, and PA among basketball master athletes in different age groups during official games. The primary findings were that (1) significant age-related declines in relative AAL, total jumps, total distance, and distance covered in speed zones 2-4 were observed in all age groups; (2) JL exhibited a steeper decline with age compared to ML; (3) despite these age-related reductions in EL metrics, subjective IL, measured through sRPE, remained consistent across all age groups; and (4) older athletes spent more time in LPA and NPA zones, alongside a concurrent reduction in MVPA. Significant age-related differences in EL metrics were observed among master basketball athletes during official games. Methodological differences, particularly in data reduction related to active time, should be considered when comparing these findings with previous research. Nevertheless, several studies employing similar methods and metrics provide valuable insights into age-related performance differences [43, 65]. The AAL for G1 was 11.35 \(\pm\) 2.27 AU/min, aligning closely with values reported for professional players (11.1 \(\pm\) 2.0 AU/min) [65] but slightly lower than semi-professional players (11.6 \(\pm\) 1.5 AU/min) [66]. The AAL of G3 (6.74 \(\pm\) 1.86 AU/min) was 40.6% lower than G1 and 15.2% lower than G2 (7.95 \(\pm\) 1.94 AU/min). These values are consistent with findings from [PERSON] et al. [43] for players over 65 years of age (6.54 \(\pm\) 1.29 AU/min) [43]. Regarding total jumps performed per minute, G3 recorded 0.25 \(\pm\) 0.22 jumps/min, closely aligning with findings from [PERSON] et al. [43] for older adults (0.28 \(\pm\) 0.13 jumps/min). These values were 40.5% lower than G1 (0.42 \(\pm\) 0.17 jumps/min) and 19.4% lower than G2 (0.31 \(\pm\) 0.19 jumps/min). Professional players, who recorded 1.11 \(\pm\) 0.53 jumps/min [65], far exceeded all groups, indicating that the decline in vertical power actions is not confined to older players but is also present in younger master athletes. This supports the notion that older athletes may adjust their movement patterns to avoid high-impact actions requiring significant lower-body power. The age-related decline in performance can be explained by a combination of factors, including reductions in muscle mass, strength, and neuromuscular function [67, 68]. Furthermore, the relative total distance also exhibited an age-related decline. G2 and G3 covered 25.2% and 36.1% less distance per minute than G1, respectively. These values were considerably lower than distances reported for male professional players (133.1 \(\pm\) 1.0 m/min) and elite young players (114.5 \(\pm\) 8.7 m/min) [69]. However, they were closer to distances observed in female college players (100.8 \(\pm\) 4.4 m/min) and professional female players (95.2 \(\pm\) 2.8 m/min) [69, 70]. While relative metrics were expressed per minute to account for differences in active time and game intensity [38, 43, 66], speed-based intensity zones provided additional insights. In speed zone 2, G2 and G3 covered 27.7% and 41.9% less distance, respectively, than G1. In speed zone 3, G2 and G3 exhibited reductions of 39.3% and 59.2%, respectively, while the greatest differences were observed in speed zone 4, where G2 covered 66.4% less and G3 82.0% less distance than G1. Interestingly, no significant differences were found in speed zone 1, which typically reflects standing and