PBA: Pacquiao to be KIA’s player-coach should rules allow it - report

Manny Pacquiao is set to be the playing-coach of expansion team KIA come next PBA season, according to a report on sports website SPIN.

In the interview, the Filipino boxing icon said, “Nag-usap na kami [with KIA], wala pang pirmahan ng contract pero okay na kami.” The eight-division champ added that he has cleared the situation with his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.

He also added that he will most likely concentrate on the coaching side of the equation, pointing out, “Coach lang naman ako. Maglalaro ako minsan.”

The arrangement is similar to what Pacquiao has with his semi-pro squad, the MP-GenSan Warriors, in Liga Pilipinas. Previously, he also hinted at playing at a PBA All-Star Game, though plans did not push through.

KIA previously wanted to tap Pacquiao as a direct hire, but league commissioner Chito Salud directly addressed the issue, saying that Pacquiao would “have to enter the rookie draft…to go through the process.”

It is not certain yet if the league will allow this move, or if it will act to clarify or close the loophole in the rules. The PBA moved to prevent the three new expansion teams, which in addition to KIA are Blackwater Sports and the NLEX Road Warriors, from having direct hires, instead reducing the amount of protected players from the other 10 franchises for the dispersal draft and giving the new squads draft picks from which to build their team. - AMD, GMA News