Joshua Munzon celebrates birthday as top PBA D-League Draft pick

“Celebrating his birthday today is ang bagong Manok ng Pasig Joshua Munzon!” (Photo: Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas/Facebook)

Former Asean Basketball League (ABL) star Joshua Munzon is celebrating his 24th birthday in the best way as he is chosen first in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Developmental League (D-League) by AMA Online Education during the draft last Tuesday, January 15.

The Filipino-American is ready to move full-time to the country for this opportunity, telling the press, “I feel like there’s a lot of opportunities for me in the Philippines right now and I just want to take full advantage of it. I want to do my best, work as hard as I could possibly can, and be the best player I could possibly be this year.” He also added that he hopes to have chemistry with Titans teammates Owen Graham and Andre Paras, stating, “Like any other team, it will take some time, get some practice in, and we’ll go from there. I’m looking at coming in and working hard and I feel like I can help and contribute to the team, work as hard as I can. I’m just optimistic in any situation and I’m ready to work.”

With the PBA D-League, Munzon will also be participating in the upcoming Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 President’s Cup which begins in February. He will be representing the Pasig-Grindhouse Kings, who recently won the pre-season tournament.

Prior to being drafted in the PBA D-League, Munzon represented Saigon Heat and the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the ABL.

Pertaining to his upcoming career, the young basketball player said that ‘winning’ is the only thing on his mind, declaring, “I want to win it all. I don’t want to lose,” adding that he “is ready.”

Meanwhile, De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Santi Santillan also bested out 151 other draftees as he was chosen second for the 2019 PBA D-League Draft, in the future representing Marinerong Pilipino. Jermiah Pangalangan, Sean Manganti, and Troy Rike were chosen third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, by Go for Gold-CSB, Che’Lu Bar and Grill, and Wangs Basketball respectively.