It wasn’t the season debut he had envisioned after Westports Malaysia Dragons bowed to the new-look Tanduay Alab Pilipinas, but for returning Heritage Import Joshua Munzon, he’ll still take it.
“It was fun. A lot of fun. It felt good to make my season debut here in the Philippines,” said the 22-year-old Filipino-American after the Dragons’ 79-90 loss, Wednesday night at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City. “We lost, but it still felt good to go out there and play for the first time with this group of guys.
“It takes some time to gel but we’ll be okay.”
There wasn’t any sign of dismay nor disappointment coming from Munzon even if his 21-point and nine-rebound effort went for naught, as being able to play once again for the Dragons is a victory in itself.
In a Tiebreaker Times exclusive last December 2017, it was reported that Munzon was left unsigned by Westports after he and the team did not agree to terms, leaving him with no choice but to sit at home and wait for developments, as he was not released.
The California-native was then signed by Westports last December 26, exactly 13 days after his story was published, to replace fellow Filipino Reil Cervantes as the Malaysian ball club’s Heritage Import.
“We had some things going on, and we were able to work it out,” shared Munzon, who averaged 19.4 points in his rookie year.
“It wasn’t really so much me being unsigned; just some things that I had to figure out. That was it.”
Asked what made him say yes when Westports came knocking on his door once more, the athletic guard-forward out of California State-Los Angeles said that he had simply grabbed the chance when it came to him.
“It was a great opportunity — a great opportunity to go out here and do what I love. It was only right,” said the record-holder for most steals in a season.
Now that he has made his return, Munzon is leaving whatever happened between him and the Dragons in the past. He is currently focused on helping his team rake wins, especially now that Westsports Malaysia has dropped to 1-3.
Even if he has yet to spend more time with the Dragons, Munzon is already confident that Westports can compete once he and the new pieces fit seamlessly into what head coach Christopher Thomas wants to see.
“We got a whole new group of guys — we just got me, Marcus [Marshall], we got AJ [West] in. We [only] got like a couple of practices. We got a lot of time. We have sixteen games left,” he shared.
“It’s a long season, so you can’t count us out early.”
