
Terrafirma head coach Johnedel Cardel sees Joshua Munzon as a “complete package” and worthy of the No.1 spot in Sunday’s virtual PBA Rookie Draft.
“He can score, he can defend, he’s also coachable, pero ang pinaka-mahalaga sa tingin ko mabait na bata (most important of all is he’s a good kid),” said Cardel when contacted Tuesday night by Manila Bulletin.
Terrafirma owns the first pick as well as the eighth spot that the team received from San Miguel Beer in a trade that involved Rookie of the Year CJ Perez – the No. 1 pick in 2018.
Cardel said that the coaching staff and management, led by Terrafirma governor Bobby Rosales, will meet Thursday to discuss the plans for the draft.
He said the 6-foot-4 Munzon tops their short list.
“I think we’re 80 percent on selecting him. Pero pag-uusapan pa namin ito ng coaching staff and with boss Bobby. Para lang sigurado (But we’ll discuss this with the coaching staff and with boss Bobby just to be sure),” he said.
A two-time PBA Scoring Champion, the departure of Perez created a void at the guard position for Terrafirma. Aside from being a combo guard, Perez is also capable of playing multiple positions from “one” to “four” – something that Munzon can provide to the team.
Munzon has shown that while with California State University, and as a pro in the ASEAN Basketball League with the Saigon Heat and the Westport Malaysia Dragons. Back in 2019, he also played in the PBA D-League with the AMA Online Education Titans.
“Nakita ko siya maglaro doon, and sabi ko nga ok na player (I saw him in the D-League, and he’s a very good player,” said Cardel, whose team took as the No. 1 pick Roosevelt Adams last year.
Aside from the 5-on-5 action, Munzon has 3x3 experience.
Munzon is part of the Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 squad with SMB’s Moala Tautuaa and Perez, and fellow PBA aspirant Alvin Pasaol preparing for the FIBA 3x3 Olympic qualifying tournament in Graz, Austria this May.