Manny Pacquiao, a boxing icon, local congressman and a world celebrity, has recently become the playing coach of the newly-formed Kia Sorentos in the Philippine Basketball Association. To bolster his team's chances of success in the PBA, Pacuiao is said to be interested in recruiting former NBA All-Star Metta World Peace and intends to speak with the 34 year-old forward about it.
ESPN.com quoted Pacquiao in a Philippine Star interview, of which he said, "He's okay. He's my friend. We need a good import. If we get him that would be nice."
Pacquiao became friends with World Peace when he first met him in Los Angeles in 2009 ahead of his fight against Miguel Cotto.
World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, currently plays for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association after spending most of his career in the NBA. The player had played with several teams in the sports league, including the Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers, and New York Knicks. He was an All-Star and NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and won an NBA Title with the Lakers on 2010.
Pacquiao, although new in basketball, has been a huge supporter of Philippine hoops. Fox Sports, nonetheless, was pessimistic about Pacquaio's capability as a professional player, much less lead a professional basketball team. The news outlet wrote, "At 5 feet 6 inches (169 centimers) tall, Pacquiao does not have the typical dimensions of a basketball player, but is a big fan of the sport and has funded the construction of courts in rural communities in his southern home province of Sarangani where he sometimes plays with the locals."
Pacquiao is currently in the United States to promote his upcoming match against American boxer Chris Algieri, which is set to take action on November 22 in Macau. Pacquiao insisted that his coaching responsibility with his PBA team will not impact his fight with Algeri. Yahoo Sports quoted the boxing legend as saying, "My training is still intense even with all of that. I have a very good assistant coach who will supervise things for me when I can't be there. There are five assistant coaches and so nothing will be overlooked. We can do it all."
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