EXCLUSIVE MANNY PACQUIAO INTERVIEW
Part 2
HOLLYWOOD—I was jiving and joking with Manny Pacquiao about a sport he seems to love almost as much as boxing.
But I soon found out Monday night that, when it comes to NBA basketball, Pacman is no joker. Instead, the passionate hoopster is a student of the league and its best players.
I asked him if he knew that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is also an enthusiastic but amateur baller. Pacman said he was not really aware of that.
I guess they won’t play a game of H-O-R-S-E then to decide the random blood testing dispute.
I mentioned that, a few years ago, he told me the San Antonio Spurs were his favorite team.
This was when the Spurs were defending champs.
Later, he told me the Lakers were his favorite team.
When Kevin Garnett and all of his Celtic teammates came to see him fight in Las Vegas, suddenly Manny was raving about the shamrock lads from Boston.
“I never said the Lakers,” Manny corrected me. Maybe it lost something in translation but I do remember Pacman praising Kobe Bryant.
Anyway, I then asked who his current day favorite ballers are. I found his answers a bit surprising.\
Steve Nash, the rugged Phoenix star, got a laudatory mention.
“I like Steve Nash, a very smart guy, a very smart player.”
Like the aspiring politician he is, Pacquiao threw in a mention of Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki.
Could it be conincidental that Manny’s next main event is in Cowobys Stadium where there surely be many Mavs fans on March 13?
Being well under six feet tall, Pacquiao has a special affinity for point guards.
“That’s the most important player because he is the one who calls the plays,” Pacquiao said.
“Nowtizki, he can play good on the outside and the inside.”
Garnett and some other Celtics continue to support Manny and stay in touch usually through Wild Card Gym security chief Rob Peters, himself another Boston boy. Actually, the Boston University graduate resided across the Charles River in Cambridge.
Pacquiao and Mayweather, two mini ballers with a love for the sport.
At least they have that in common, right?
How about a free throw contest over the blood testing controversy?
