KARL-Anthony Towns had just beaten Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco to the draw.
As the 50-year-old mentor of the Azzurri kept on pursuing Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, Dominican Republic's star center was fortunate enough to meet with the eight-world division champion two days ago.
SCENARIOS: Gilas must beat Italy by 18 - and hope for Angola loss
Towns was welcomed by Pacquiao in his Makati mansion on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Dominicans pulled off a close 87-81 win over Gilas Pilipinas at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
The Minnessota Timberwolves big man said it was fun catching up with Pacquiao again right here in the Philippines.
“We haven’t seen each other in a while,” said Towns of Pacquiao.
The two first met when Towns paid Pacquiao a visit at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood last year while the former senator was deep in training for his WBA welterweight title fight against Yordenis Ugas of Cuba.
The former NBA Rookie of the Year said it’s always an honor meeting and seeing a figure considered a legend in the sport.
“I’ve known Manny for a while. Being able to see him in the ring personally, being in training camp, it’s really nice catching up with him,” said Towns.
A day after the meet-up, Towns went off with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds and shot 4-of-9 from three-point range to lead Dominican Republic past Italy, 87-82.
Incidentally, Italy's coach, Pozzecco, has repeatedly been asking for a personal meeting with his idol Pacquiao since arriving in the country last week.
Will he finally get to see the 44-year-old Pacquiao in the flesh as Gilas is set to face the Azzurri on Tuesday at the end of the first round of the group stage?
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