On a night much of the attention was on Justine Baltazar and his much-awaited PBA debut, Joshua Munzon emerged as the story yet again.
In what’s becoming a regularity, the former top pick nailed the biggest of shots in the clutch to help NorthPort take down Converge, 108-101, and go 5-0 in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Thursday.
Named Player of the Week for the period Dec. 3-8 by the PBA Press Corps, Munzon finished with a career-high 30 points, none more important than the back-to-back threes he drilled to take the lead for good, 103-97, with 1:45 left.
He would eventually earn Player of the Game honors for the third consecutive time as his exploits helped the Batang Pier remain atop the standings.
“We have been going back and forth the whole fourth. At that point, we just needed to score a couple of buckets. I just had confidence in myself,” said Munzon, who also had three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block.
Top-scoring for NorthPort was Kadeem Jack with 32 alongside 15 rebounds as he and Munzon became the first teammates in the franchise to score 30 in the same game since Arvin Tolentino and Venky Jois did last season.
Tolentino himself was crucial in beating the FiberXers, finishing with 21 and 13 as he and Jack provided the finishing touches in the final 1:22 to not only seal the win but to preserve the efforts of their two-way specialist as well.
Chipping in another solid performance was rookie Evan Nelle with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and a steal in 24 minutes off the bench.
All of them indeed did their part in the come-from-behind victory and head coach Bonnie Tan admitted that the game being Baltazar’s league debut served as a motivation for the rest of the Batang Pier to deliver the best they can.
“We discussed na huwag nating ibigay sa rookie, na first game, ‘yung magandang ginagawa natin for the past four games,” he said.
“Nag-step up yung mga players natin to get our fifth win. Siguro, na-realize ng mga player na 4-0 tapos matatalo this game,” added the veteran mentor.
NorthPort did make it a tough first game for the no. 1 selection of the 2024 PBA Draft with five points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the 20 minutes and 43 seconds he was utilized by acting coach Franco Atienza.
Yet Converge gave Tan and his charges the fits, especially when it got to within just a point, 95-94, after staring at a 91-82 deficit early in the fourth.
However, they couldn’t get the lead back. Alec Stockton did tie the game up at 97-all after a triple with 2:56 remaining, but Munzon happened.
Put to naught by the loss, their second in four outings, was the conference-high 30 points of Jordan Heading. The lefty combo guard shot an excellent 5-of-8 from three-point distance and also collected six rebounds and six assists.
Stockton tallied a 16-6-5 line, while Deschon Winston added 15 markers as the locals stepped up with Cheick Diallo saddled with foul trouble.
The former NBA pro out of Kansas garnered five personal fouls, thus the sub-par numbers of 13 points and nine rebounds he finished with.
The Scores:
Northport 108 – Jack 32, Munzon 30, Tolentino 21, Nelle 13, Yu 6, Navarro 4, Onwubere 2, Flores 0, Tratter 0, Bulanadi 0, Cuntapay 0, Miranda 0.
Converge 101 – Heading 30, Stockton 16, Winston 15, Diallo 13, Arana 8, Racal 7, Baltazar 5, Santos 4, Andrade 3, Delos Santos 0, Nieto 0, Javillonar 0, Caralipio 0.
Quarterscores: 24-33; 54-57; 75-76; 108-101.
