Towns wins Pacquiao lottery

MANILA, Philippines — The spotlight is on the basketball court and its biggest stars but a slew of international players are lining up and hoping to meet world boxing legend Manny Pacquiao during their Philippine stay.

Pacquiao, the 44-year-old Filipino ring icon, remains the most sought after personality for foreign visitors, including Dominican Republic center Karl-Anthony Towns, in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves ace who’s leading the Dominicans’ unbeaten run so far, beat everyone to the draw when he got the opportunity to visit Pacquiao in the former senator’s sprawling mansion in Makati last Sunday. Later on, he towed his team to a stunning 87-82 win over heavy favorite Italy at the Big Dome.

“It’s fun. It’s great to meet a Filipino legend, boxing legend and sports legend. I’ve known Manny for a while,” Towns told reporters after the Dominican Republic went 2-0 in Group A to bolster its second-round hopes.

The versatile 7-footer visited Pacquiao in his training camp in 2021 and had watched the Filipino in action live.

“Being able to see him in the ring personally, being in training camp. It’s really fun to catch up. We haven’t seen each other in a while,” added Towns, who also stamped his class in his team’s close 87-81 win against home team Gilas Pilipinas in front of a record-breaking crowd.

Italy also has a huge Pacquiao fan on deck in head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco, who looked for the Pambansang Kamao right upon the Italians’ airport arrival.

“I love Manny Pacquiao,” said Pozzecco, whose wards will battle the Philippines in a crucial game today to determine the teams advancing to the second round.