First draft pick Joshua Munzon makes D-League debut

“AMA cruises past McDavid, 80-65” (File Photo: PBA D-League/Facebook)

Twenty-four-year-old Filipino-American Joshua Munzon has finally been able to show the local basketball scene why he was the number one draft of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Developmental League (D-League), as his team AMA Online Education whipped McDavid, 80-65, for their first game of the season at Paco Arena in Manila last Tuesday, February 19.

Munzon, formerly representing the Philippines in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), contributed a double-double for his first game with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists while teammate Franky Johnson was the highest pointer, contributing 24 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Troy Rike also helped with a total of 15 points and eight rebounds. For McDavid, Jason Melano led the way with 15 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.

When it comes to his debut performance, Munzon was not satisfied, sharing, “I missed a lot of free throws, missed a lot of shots. So definitely, I got some more work to do.” He also reports that he was unable to attend a few of his team’s first practices due to having to return to California to secure papers for his participation in the league, saying, “I haven’t been practicing as much as I’d like to. I could’ve been better,” adding, “ I got to a real slow start out there, but I’m just happy that my teammates were able to pick me up.” The guard concludes, “ I won’t make any excuses. I went out there and played just like everybody else. But give us more time, maybe we’ll get together a bit more, and we’ll be better the next game,” referring to their upcoming game next Tuesday against the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

However, the team’s head coach Mark Herrera sought the event to have a positive outcome, telling the media, “It’s good that we jelled early on. At least, the boys got together.