MANNY Pacquiao has worn many hats over his life, and it was nine years ago when he had his first foray into basketball.
Make that PBA basketball.
On June 9, 2014, Pacquiao, in a press conference, was officially announced as the head coach of Kia, which at that time was coming in as an expansion team in the PBA.
He was active in boxing and was already a member of the House of Representatives when it was announced that he will be the franchise’s first-ever coach.
During the announcement, Pacquiao said he planned to incorporate boxing into his basketball coaching, particularly in training.
“Dadaanan natin sila sa training na gagawin ko sa kanila,” said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao would later become the playing coach of the team after he drafted himself in the 2014 draft using the 11th pick overall.
While Pacquiao was technically the head coach, Kia was essentially being handled by the assistant coaches which included Chris Gavina.
Pacquiao had a 28-73 win-loss record as the head coach of the franchise.
Pacquiao parted ways with Kia in 2017, but his involvement in basketball continued. In that same year, Pacquiao founded the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
The league is still going strong to this day.
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