Joshua Munzon is slowly blossoming into a solid player for NorthPort, finally realizing the potential expected from him when he was selected as top overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Terrafirma Dyip.

The 6-foot-4 wingman has become one of the Batang Pier's most potent weapons along with main man Arvin Tolentino and young guns Cade Flores, Fran Yu, and Brent Paraiso in just a year since getting traded to the team.

Munzon scattered 20 points, four rebounds and four assists, but none bigger than the four steals he recorded -- something he was attributing to the confidence that has been given by head coach Bonnie Tan who got him to embrace a more defensive mindset during games.

“It feels great to know that he just believes in me. He knows that if I play defense, offense is gonna follow. He just gives me the confidence to go out there and play my game,” said Munzon.

“He still wants me to play aggressively on the offense as long as I’m playing aggressive on defense and I’ll be on the court too. It feels good that he has confidence in me and I’ve been able to show that I’m worth the minutes out there,” he added.

For Tan’s part, he believed that Munzon really has that ability to perform well if he was just able to ease the pressure of delivering for his crew.

“I’m happy for Josh. ‘Yung first year niya, parang pressured siya to perform as the number one pick. Siguro ‘yung expectations ang nag-trigger na medyo below-par ‘yung performance niya,” said Tan.

“We talked before this conference na para ma-lessen ‘yung pressure, just start by playing good defense and you’ll be getting your minutes na deserving minutes. You cannot perform well or contribute to a team if you are on the bench,” added the soft-spoken mentor.