Joshua Munzon was taken out by coach Johnedel Cardel late in the third quarter of Terrafirma’s PBA Governors’ Cup clash with Blackwater, Saturday.
That’s because the youthful bench tactician wants to relay a message to the 2021 top overall pick, who’s in his first game back since the Philippine Cup.
“In the last few minutes of the third quarter, I took him out to tell him to, ‘Just settle down.’ He knows he realized what was wrong with his game,” he said.
“I just told him we need to play honest defense, kasi mapapansin mo he’s very erratic. He wants to get a steal right away and make a layup.”
Munzon, however, did not sit on the sidelines for too long. He got brought back in and, in fact, was part of the Dyip’s closing unit as his ‘erratic’ ways did not diminish one bit of confidence Cardel has in him.
He then came up big in the clutch, completing a three-point play before scoring on a breakaway lay-up to cap off an overwhelming 16-0 run that flipped a 12-point deficit to a 102-96 lead for his side with 1:31 to go.
Photo by PBA Images
Terrafirma went on to leave the SMART Araneta Coliseum with the 109-103 victory to collect their second win in the season-ending tilt.
“In the last minutes, I needed him to score, I needed him to hustle. That’s what happened,” said Cardel.
“‘Yung paglabas ko sa kanya, he realized he needs to play defense, stop your opponent. That’s why we came out with the win.”
Munzon finished with 13 points on 14 shots, alongside four rebounds, two steals, and an assist in his first outing since July last of last year,
Cardel is glad to have received such a performance from the 27-year-old, who started the game and played for over 27 minutes.
“The last part, I still believed in Josh, I put him in the last five minutes, and he responded. Maganda naman yung ginawa,” he said.
“So, ganun lang. I give confidence to all my players. even though they have a bad game, I still give them confidence kasi alam natin may mga laro sila e,” the cager turned coach added.
“So, tiwala lang.“
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