Pacquiao to join the Philippine Basketball Association as 'Player-Coach'

MANILA, Philippines – It looks like nothing is stopping boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao from fulfilling his PBA dream. In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Pacquiao said he is set to join PBA expansion team KIA Motors. " playing coach," he told ABS-CBN's Dyan Castillejo, adding that he'll be taking the point guard position. In an separate interview with Spin.ph’s Snow Badua, the Sarangani congressman confirmed that he has already reached an agreement with Ginia Domingo of Columbia Autocar Corp., the local distributor of KIA Motors, to play in the PBA in October. But what happens with the PBA ruling that will require him to undergo the 2014 Rookie Draft? Pacquiao, 35, told the sports website that they are verifying the rule that exempts a player from the draft if he joins the team as playing coach. “'Yung rules naman daw nila, pag playing-coach pwedeng lumaro sa team. So 'yun ang aming pinag-aaralan ngayon,” he told Spin.ph. Pacquiao, who considers former Ginebra playing coach Robert Jaworski as one of his idols, is confident of his coaching abilities as he once owned the MP Gensan Warriors in the defunct Liga Pilipinas. If he makes his debuts in October, he will not only become the first professional boxer ever to play in the PBA, he will also become the first active pugilist to coach in Asia's first play-for-pay league. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/05/08/14/pacquiao-join-pba-playing-coach