Is Manny Pacquiao making the transition from being a professional boxer to a professional basketball player?
Reports emanating from the Philippines indicate that the only man to have won world titles in eight different divisions has plans to join the Kia basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Asia's oldest play-for-pay basketball league.
He himself bared his plans to Spin.ph, saying: "Hindi pa naman final, pero may planong maglaro ako sa PBA (It's not yet final, but I have plans to play in the PBA)."
The details are still vague on what could be the biggest single transaction in league history, with arguably the greatest Asian boxer of all-time joining the expansion team Kia Motors as it makes its debut in the pro league later this year.
Kia, with its Philippine distributor Columbia Motors, was one of the three expansion teams accepted by the PBA recently.
It is a widely-known fact in the Philippines that Pacquiao is an ardent follower and player of basketball, having grown up in this basketball-crazy country. He was once an owner of a semi-professional basketball league and regularly plays pick-up games as part of his cross-training.
However, there are a lot of barriers that may prevent Pacquiao from fulfilling this plan. First, at 35 years old, he could find himself being abused by younger and faster players. At 5-foot-5 inches, he could also be the shortest player in the league.
If he indeed suits up for Kia, Pacquiao could follow the footsteps of four-division champion Roy Jones, Jr. who played briefly for the USBL during the '90s.
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