MANILA, Philippines - Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who has Filipino roots, is hardly surprised that boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has taken the road to professional basketball coaching.
In a report by James Herbert of cbssports.com, Spoelstra was sought for comment about Pacquiao taking the coaching helm at Kia Motors, one of the latest expansion teams that will see action in the next PBA season.
The two-time NBA champion coach says there’s nothing unusual about Pacquiao calling the shots for a PBA team.
“I know he’s a huge basketball fan, so it doesn’t surprise me,†said Spoelstra, who traces his roots to San Pablo, Laguna.
Pacquiao was formally named Kia head coach on Monday, vowing to prove he deserves the position as he plans to form a team competitive enough to duke it out in the PBA. Also incumbent Sarangani representative, Pacquiao adds the PBA to his already packed schedule that would include training for fights in the next two years.
Spoelstra, for his part, even mulls personally seeing Pacquiao coach, maybe sometime during the NBA offseason.
“I’ll hopefully be able to see him this summer, see what’s up. Maybe I’ll check out a practice,†said Spoelstra, who currently has his hands full trying to guide the Heat to a third-straight NBA title against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Heat are trailing the Spurs in the series 1-2.