Joshua Munzon is giving Justine Baltazar a vote of confidence after the highly touted rookie’s much-awaited PBA debut ended up in a loss on Thursday.
NorthPort’s two-way specialist believes that the Kapampangan forward will be just fine in an expression of support from one top overall pick to another.
“He’s a very versatile big man, I say,” he offered after leading his side past Baltazar and Converge by way of a 108-101 result at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“But I think it was his first game, so he still had to get his feet wet, see how this league is. Pretty sure he’ll be fine,” Munzon furthered.
Baltazar finished with only five points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the 20 minutes and 43 seconds he was utilized off the bench.
While those figures may seem underwhelming for some, it was understandable as the 27-year-old is yet to fully recover from the grind he and Pampanga went through in the recently-concluded Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
There, he and the Giant Lanterns faced Quezon in the National Finals in a series where the first two games were played in Dubai before Game 3 shifted to San Fernando, where they completed the sweep to defend their throne.
And mere days after, he went on to join the team that made him the first selection of the 2024 PBA Draft, eventually leading to his league debut.
But then again, it wasn’t the most ideal start with his FiberXers losing for the second time in four games so far in the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup no thanks to the Batang Pier, who’s leading the standings with a clean 5-0 card.
NorthPort chalking up another W was behind Munzon’s brilliance anew as he finished with 30 points, including the back-to-back three-pointers he drilled to give themselves the lead for good, 103-97, with 1:45 left to play.
The Season 48 All-Defensive Team member shot an efficient 55.0-percent from the floor and also garnered three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block as he has been having a totally impressive conference thus far.
So much so that he was awarded with Player of the Week honors for the period Dec. 3-8 by the PBA Press Corps in due recognition of his all-around exploits, which has hugely contributed to the best start ever of the franchise.
Will we ever see Baltazar be as impactful for Converge? Well, only time will tell. And Munzon himself believes that he could get there soon.
“The more he plays, he’ll be just fine,” said the 29-year-old, who traces his roots to Bacolor.
“He’ll be pretty good. Just gotta get him some more time.”
