There are times you can tell Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach isn’t quite sold on Chris Algieri, the Long Island longshot who faces Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 22 in Macau for the WBO welterweight championship.

During a conference call Thursday from the Philippines, Roach took a direct shot at Algieri, suggesting some of Pacquiao’s sparring partners were “better than our opponent.” Roach later added: “Sometimes the truth hurts.”

Algieri (20-8, 8 KOs) was a virtual unknown until last June, when he scored a huge upset by earning a majority decision over knockout artist Ruslan Provodnikov at Barclays Center. Algieri won the WBO junior welterweight title and later landed the pay-per-view fight with Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), who has won titles in eight different weight divisions.

Algieri is a unique opponent because he’s a college graduate with two degrees, lives with his family in Huntington, and turned to boxing at age 23 after earning a championship in kickboxing. He has been featured in The New Yorker magazine and numerous media outlets along the East Coast, portrayed as a real-life Rocky.

“While it’s true among fight fans Algieri may not be as well known, more of the public now know Algieri better than they do most fighters,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said.

Yet his credibility as an opponent worthy of fighting Pacquiao remains in question. Roach suggested Pacquiao’s sparring partner Viktor Postol of Ukraine is better than Algieri. Postol (26-0, 11 KOs) is a 5-foot-11 junior welterweight with fast hands and power.

“You can’t get a better sparring partner for Algieri than Postol,” Arum said.

In preparation for fighting the 5-foot-10 Algieri, Pacquiao is also sparring with Philadelphia welterweight Mike Jones, a 6-foot welterweight who has lost his last two fights. Roach, Pacquiao’s longtime trainer, is concerned about Algieri’s piston jab, a weapon he used to neutralize Provodnikov after the Russian dropped Algieri twice in the first round and closed his right eye.

“The jab is the best punch in boxing,” Roach said. “We have to take that jab away from him. We have a game plan on how to do that. We’re working on it every day, and that’s why Postol has been brought in. He gives us a good idea what to expect in the fight.”

Pacquiao has been ridiculed for recently playing in a professional basketball game for the KIA Sorentos in the Philippine Basketball Association. Though he played for just seven minutes and escaped unharmed, even a twisted ankle could have put the big-bucks fight in jeopardy. It also could be viewed as a slight to Algieri. It’s the only basketball Pacquiao has played during training camp, but it made Arum cringe.

“I found out he was playing before he played, and I wasn’t very happy,” Arum said. “Professional basketball, no matter where the country is that you play, is a rugged sport and a player can turn an ankle very, very easily. An injury would have really wreaked havoc with the fight, so I was not very pleased. But Manny has assured Freddie and Freddie has assured me that that’s it. After he does the fight on Nov. 22, if he wants to try out with the New York Knicks, that’s OK with me.”

No harm, no foul is how Pacquiao views it.

“I just played to give encouragement to my team,” he said. “That’s why we won the first game. But right now I’m very focused on my training. After the fight, I’ll come back to the team and focus on being the head coach for the team.”