MANILA, Philippines - Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao shows his basketball prowess as PacMan Gen-San hosts Treston-Laguna at the start today of the second leg of the Tournament of the Philippines at the Lagao gym in Gen. Santos City.
Three more teams, including Pacquiao’s Warriors, make their debut in the joint tournament by the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and Liga Pilipinas. The other teams in the fold are Cobra Energy Drink and Misamis Oriental Meteors.
Pacquiao will wear jersey No. 17 when the Warriors and the Stallions collide in the 7:30 p.m. main game.
Treston-Laguna, the fourth team in the leg sponsored by Air21, Ascof Lagundi, Molten, Agrinurture, Treston College, Burlington and Basketball TV, finished third in the initial leg topped by M. Lhuillier-Cebu last week.
Cobra Energy Drink and Misamis Oriental clash in the 5 p.m. opener.
Pacquiao, who just received his Boxer of the Decade award from the Boxing Writers Association of America, will be joined in by PBL standout Marvin Yambao and center Erian Daja in the Pacman team.
Laguna, which gained seven points in the previous leg, will lean on Rob Sanz, Leomer Losentes, Alex Angeles, Marlon Legaspi and Francis Mercado.
Meanwhile, Cobra has enlisted five former players from University of the East, including UAAP Mythical Five member Elmer Espiritu, Pari Llagas, Rudy Lingganay, Val Acuna and Jorel Canizares.
Three of them are coming off a stint in the ASEAN Basketball League with Espiritu and Acuna joining the champion Philippine Patriots and Lingganay seeing action for the KL Dragons.