Friday night was not just the homecoming for Parks, Jr. but also for Filipino-American Joshua Munzon
When it is your first time to set foot in a place you’re unsure of, a lot of things circle around your head. But for Saigon Heat guard/forward Joshua Munzon, his very first visit in the Philippines was a moment he never expected to be a memorable one.
It was Friday night, another ASEAN Basketball League gamedate. An eight-man Saigon team flew all the way to Parañaque for another road game, this time to face Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. and Alab Pilipinas.
The Heat had a promising start in the first quarter, until Parks, Jr. lit up on offense, scoring 35 points including a league-record 8-for-8 triples to lift Alab to a 99-79 win over the Vietnamese squad.
It was yet another tough outing for Saigon, who are now 1-6 at the bottom of the standings. After winning their lone game against Kaohsiung Truth, the Heat have now drowned to a three-game skid.
The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Saigon. But for the Filipino-American Munzon, who finished with 20 markers highlighted by three dunks that delighted the crowd, he felt otherwise.
“It was a tough game. [But] It’s crazy though. I mean, the atmosphere was crazy,” said the 22-year-old California native, who was mobbed by fans right after the game — an indication that spectators loved the way he played.
“The environment is definitely fun. I played my first game here. I had a good time. I enjoyed myself even though we lost by 20.
“It was crazy. It was fun. I had a good time,” an elated Munzon kept on saying, regarding his very first time to play in the country.
Looking at his season thus far, the Heritage Import is having a remarkable season for Saigon, averaging 18.2 points — a stat that shot up after a 34-point outburst against Kaohsiung early this January — 2.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in their seven games.
Not only does Munzon impose his presence on the offensive side of the floor, but his defense is one facet of his game that is truly noticeable. He is currently averaging 4.1 steals a match, which included two games where he made six.
Munzon’s rookie year in the Southeast Asian pro league is nevertheless promising. A player worth keeping for the coming years. But as any player out there, the 6-foot-5 guard/forward also had his own share of humble beginnings.
Prior to signing with the Heat back in October last year, Munzon was coming off a stint with NCAA Division II school California State University-Los Angeles, finishing his four-year collegiate career strongly with norms of 12.9 markers, 4.0 boards, 1.7 dimes, and 1.9 steals in 34.9 minutes of action in his senior year.
And similar to Alab forward Lawrence Domingo, who is also a friend of Munzon, their highlight tapes were the ones that served as a major key in being discovered by scouts and teams.
“My agent gave my highlight tape to a couple of teams, and this was the team that reached out to me. Everything then fell into place, and I happened to be here in Saigon,” said Munzon of what happened there after.
Being a Filipino-American, the possibilities of playing in Asia’s first play-for-pay league, the PBA, will always be there. And Munzon admitted that he plans to go into the pro league soon via the PBA D-League.
“Yeah, play in the D-League first,” bared Munzon.
“We’ll see after the season. I’ll weigh my options first and go from there. But definitely get in the D-League first, and hopefully move forward from there.”
But before all of those future plans of his, Munzon”s sole focus for now is with the team where he kick-started his young career — Saigon Heat.
“It’s my first professional season, so I just try to find my way. I try to come out there every night and play as hard as I can and contribute. I just wanna come out and do everything I can to help my team win,” vowed Munzon.
Joshua Munzon was released by the Saigon Heat, Tuesday morning
