Manny invites Sorentos to Macau fight

MANILA, Philippines - WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has invited the coaches and players of Kia Motors’ PBA team to watch his title defense against unbeaten Chris Algieri on the second row wearing Kia Sorentos caps at the Venetian Resort in Macau on Nov. 23.

Columbian Autocar Corp. vice chairman Bienvenido (Chito) Santos recently informed PBA commissioner Chito Salud of Pacquiao’s invitation. Salud said the PBA will adjust the Sorentos’ schedule of games in the coming Philippine Cup to free that weekend for the team to attend the bout.

Santos and two other top executives of the Alvarez Group, Demosthenes (Bobby) Rosales and Dennis Mate, were in Seville to cheer for Gilas at the FIBA World Cup last week.

Pacquiao was drafted by Kia in absentia with the 11th pick on the first round of the PBA draft last month. He is the Sorentos’ playing coach. Pacquiao was in China to kickstart the promotional tour organized by Top Rank for the Macau fight during the draft and had advised Salud he would miss the event.

There was speculation that a team would pick Pacquiao before Kia’s turn came for the purpose of trading him to the Sorentos for a future first round choice but it didn’t happen. A rumor spread that Pacquiao personally asked officials of other PBA teams to desist from drafting him but this was denied. PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial said before the draft, a team that would choose Pacquiao before Kia’s turn ran the risk of forfeiting its first round slot with the possibility of Salud voiding it as an act of bad faith.

Pacquiao is expected to suit up in Kia’s debut against another expansion team Blackwater in the first game of a PBA doubleheader to open the 40th anniversary season on Oct. 19, possibly at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena. The ring icon will be deep in training for Algieri so that it may be the only game he will play until after the Macau outing.

A Kia source said Pacquiao is the best thing that could’ve happened to the Sorentos. “We never approached Manny, in fact it was Manny who approached us,” said the source. “He has big plans for our team. He wants to win a championship within three years. As we all know, Manny’s not used to losing. He’s a world-class athlete and he wants our team to be highly competitive like he is. We’re not even paying him to be our playing coach.”

Pacquiao has agreed to appear in functions with the team but will not endorse Kia cars. There will be no Kia patch in his boxing robe or trunks. If Pacquiao comes out in a commercial for Kia, it will only be with the Sorentos as playing coach.

Pacquiao is reportedly bringing in a US basketball coach for six months to guide him in his new assignment with the Sorentos. He will personally choose Kia’s imports in the Commissioner’s and Governors Cups and even pay for them. “Manny has many friends in the basketball world,” said a Kia official. “He’ll ask one of his NBA friends to play for us as an import.” In 2008, Pacquiao invited the Boston Celtics to watch his fight against David Diaz in Las Vegas and after the bout, the team went to his dressing room like giggly fans requesting for a picture with their idol.

Kia is going all-out to support the Sorentos. Columbian Autocar Corp. president Ginia Domingo, who represents Kia in the PBA Board of Governors, recently launched a name-the-team campaign and out of thousands of entries, the moniker Sorentos was chosen. The Sorento is Kia’s SUV model that’s taking the world market by storm. Kia will bring the senders of the top 15 entries to Los Angeles in February next year to watch the Clippers in action as a prize. Clippers center Blake Griffin is a Kia endorser.

“We’re excited about our participation in the PBA,” said a Kia official. “Right now, just with the announcement of our team, we’ve increased our car sales by 70 percent so what more when the games get going? We believe the PBA is a great advertising vehicle and there are many synergies we can create within our group of companies through our PBA team. For instance, we’re tapping our transport line to mobilize 200 buses to bring in 10,000 fans for every Kia game. We’re the only local bus line with a mileage card so this will be a perfect opportunity for fans to watch the PBA games and earn mileage points, too. We feel the live audience is a wide-open market for our transport business while the TV audience is our market for Kia cars.”

Kia is now forming a cheering squad to get ready for the season. “When we bring in 10,000 fans for a game, we’ll need cheerleaders to get them organized so we’re tapping 20 cheerleaders from different UAAP and NCAA teams,” a Kia source said. “Toyota made a name for itself in the PBA with the Super Corollas and Tamaraws. We studied Toyota’s experience in the PBA and we think Kia can do even better with Manny as playing coach in terms of connecting with the fans. Eventually, we will become a champion team in the PBA.”