General Admission
A golf game made Pacquiao a basketball coach
By Al S. Mendoza
JUST because he loved basketball first before boxing, Manny Pacquiao became head coach of Kia Motors basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
I got this straight from the so-called horse’s mouth.
She is Ginia Domingo, the president of Kia Motors.
I had pizza and coffee with her on Thursday after taping a TV show called “Auto Focus” hosted by Ray Butch “Elvis” Gamboa.
We had quite a chat that afternoon.
“Yes, it is his love of basketball that brought Congressman Manny (Pacquiao) to us,” said Ginia. “More than boxing, he said basketball has been his passion.”
The lady president of Kia said a game of golf produced Pacquiao as Kia’s coach in the company’s coming stint in the PBA’s 40th season set to fire off on October 19.
“My boss, Governor Alvarez (of Palawan) was playing a round of golf when talk among him and his flight-mates strayed into basketball,” said Ginia. “Then a friend of Congressman Manny, who was in that flight, said that Pacquiao is a passionate fan of basketball. One thing led to another and before we knew it, Pacquiao was being groomed as our basketball coach.”
Ginia said when the idea was initially broached up to Pacquiao, “Congressman Manny was excited. Almost immediately, he accepted the job.”
To her surprise, Ginia said she would have Pacquiao as a regular visitor in her Kia offices, animatedly discussing plans about the Kia basketball team.
“He quickly assembled his coaching staff,” Ginia said. “We gave him a free hand in choosing his men. We didn’t want to meddle as we saw his dedication and passion for the game.”
His assistants thus far are Glen Capacio, Rob Wainwright and Louie Gonzales, all former basketball players.
Capacio was a star in his own right when he played for Purefoods in the PBA. He used to coach Far Eastern University and is currently assistant coach at Global Port in the PBA.
Ginia said top Kia management admits that Pacquiao is a busy man so that if the current world welterweight champion won’t be around to coach Kia, “It would be Mr. Capacio calling the shots.”
I asked Ginia how much will Pacquiao receive monthly as his salary.
“In fairness to Congressman Manny, he never mentioned about his salary,” said Ginia. “All he told us was, he wanted to coach the team.”
“You mean he’ll be coaching Kia for free?”
“Of course, not,” Ginia said. “It’s just that he is not being very particular about his salary. He is really very humble and a gentleman to the hilt. He hates talking about money.”
The fairytale-like saga that is Pacquiao continues.
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