World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao debut in the basketball scene was dismal. He started off with a scoreless run and had two turnovers and a foul as starting shooting guard for his team Kia.
It was unfortunate that the king of the ring never had a chance to land a shot in the ring for his first Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Game.
According to the Ring Champ but Basketball Rookie "It doesn't matter. What is important is the team won."KIA Team, Philippines,
Pacquiao is the playing coach for the Kia Team and selected himself as a starting five for the squad against Blackwater. The game was played at a 50,000-seater Philippine Arena where mostly fans of the PacMan where there to support.
Many of the fans shouted at the court to ""Give the ball to Manny!" when the team slacked a bit during the tournament. Pacquiao decided to substitute himself 7 minutes in to the game while the team was trailing behind their opponent.
Good thing the team won at the end of the game with the score 80-66 to the delight of the fans as you can hear the whole stadium chanting to Manny's name.
On the other hand, Pacquiao is also busy with his training as he has a match this coming November. Pacman is preoccupied with the World Boxing Organization welterweight title against undefeated American Chris Algieri in Macau in November.
Pacquaio also talked about his incoming fight with Algieri where he said "I'm not taking Algieri lightly. He's taller than me and moves around the ring with savvy. That's why I started my training early."
Pacquaio's assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez said that they are working on their game plan saying "Algieri uses the ring well and he loves to lean on the ropes. We must devise a strategy to counter this. "He's fast, but not as fast as Timothy Bradley. So he can be an easy target for our boxer."
Many Dilipino fans are concerned that Pacquaio might injure himself while playing basketball. To this Oliver Wendell Lozano, the head doctor of the league and a rabid basketball fan said "God forbid that he should suffer a ligament or tendon tear. Boxers have a tougher bone structure. It has something to do with their training."
