Manny Pacquaio named head coach of Philippine pro basketball team

Here’s one coach that players and refs won’t want to argue with: Boxer Manny Pacquiao was named head coach of the Kia Motors expansion team in the Philippine Basketball Assn. on Monday.

“I need to prove that my skills aren’t limited to just boxing, but basketball as well,” Pacquiao said. “I really like basketball. Even though I have many accomplishments in boxing, basketball is still in my heart.”

The first official action of Coach Pacquiao was to name his assistant: former PBA star Glenn Capacio.

The 2014-15 PBA season will get underway in October and Pacquiao is scheduled to fight in November. So this couldn’t merely be a publicity stunt, could it? PBA Commissioner Chito Salud says no.

“These past few weeks there have been so many comments, so many concerns regarding Manny’s possibility of joining the PBA and many of these concerns have been expressed in my mind to protect the interest genuinely of our national treasure Manny Pacquiao,” Salud said.

“But I think what we’re missing here is what does Manny really bring to the table in so far as the PBA is concerned? Of course there’s the wow factor, there’s the point of interest, pulling power of Manny Pacquiao. But I want to emphasize that Manny is the embodiment of what the PBA is striving to stand for. And what is that? Highest degree of excellence and sportsmanship with regard to fan and public interest.”