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Joshua Munzon

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Richardson and the surname or paternal family name is Munzon.
Joshua Munzon
No. 24 – NorthPort Batang Pier
PositionSmall forward / shooting guard
LeaguePBA
Personal information
Born (1995-01-15) January 15, 1995 (age 29)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
NationalityFilipino / American
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolLong Beach Polytechnic
(Long Beach, California)
CollegeCal State LA (2012–2016)
PBA draft2020: 1st round, 1st overall[a]
Selected by the Terrafirma Dyip
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017Saigon Heat
2017–2018Westports Malaysia Dragons
2018iECO Green Warriors
2021–2022Terrafirma Dyip
2023–presentNorthPort Batang Pier
Career highlights and awards

Joshua Eugene Richardson Munzon (born January 22, 1995) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Early life and collegiate career

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Joshua Eugene Munzon[1] was born on January 15, 1995, in Long Beach, California[2] with his father being Filipino.[3] For his collegiate education, Munzon attended and graduated from the California State University in Los Angeles[4] Prior to committing to the 3x3 variant of basketball, Munzon played competitive 5-a-side basketball. In college, he played for the Cal State LA Golden Eagles in the NCAA Division II.[4]

Professional career

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Saigon Heat (2016–2017)

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In 2016 shortly after graduating from college, he moved to Vietnam to join the Saigon Heat of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) to start his professional basketball career.[5] He played in the ABL as a "heritage player" for non-Philippine teams owing to his Filipino lineage.[4] He was part of Saigon Heat until January 2017.[6]

Westports Malaysia Dragons (2017–2018)

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Shortly after playing for Heat, he joined the Westports Malaysia Dragons in February 2017[7] and was part of the team for the rest of 2016–17 ABL season.[8] After the season, Munzon and Westport could not agree on a contract and Muzon sought to play for another ABL team. However the Malaysian team did not agree to release him to play for another ABL team due to what Munzon claims to be a result of a "gentlemen's agreement" that players will have to wait for a year before playing for another team.[8]

For the meantime, Munzon suited up for PEA in the Thailand Basketball League in 2017.[8] Munzon returned to the ABL rejoined the Westports Malaysia Dragons in late December 2017.[9]

iECO Green Warriors (2018)

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In 2018, Munzon had a brief stint with the iECO Green Warriors, a PBA Developmental League selection team, which played in Asia League's The Terrific 12 tournament in Macau.[10]

FIBA 3x3 Pro Circuit and Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 (2019)

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Munzon has played in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour. For the 2019 iteration, he played for Pasig Chooks.[11]

In the domestic scene, Munzon plays in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 league.[12] It was in late 2018, that the proponents of the league reached out to Munzon to play 3x3. His participation in the 2019 season helped in boosting the Philippines FIBA 3x3 Federation ranking that qualified the country's national team's participation in the 2020 Summer Olympics qualifiers.[13] In the process, Munzon became part of the Top 100 of the individual FIBA 3x3 rankings at rank 89th and became the top-ranked Filipino player by June 2019.[14]

Terrafirma Dyip (2021–2022)

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On March 14, 2021, Munzon was selected first overall by the Terrafirma Dyip in the PBA season 46 draft.

NorthPort Batang Pier (2023–present)

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On January 12, 2023, Munzon was traded to the NorthPort Batang Pier for Kevin Ferrer.[15] In June 2024, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Batang Pier.[16]

PBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

As of the end of 2023–24 season[17]

Season-by-season averages

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Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Terrafirma 9 30.5 .403 .242 .758 3.4 2.6 1.3 .2 16.6
2022–23 Terrafirma 33 25.4 .323 .240 .641 3.2 1.9 1.0 .3 9.8
NorthPort
2023–24 NorthPort 24 29.8 .389 .263 .796 3.5 3.4 2.5 .2 12.3
Career 66 27.7 .361 .249 .715 3.4 2.5 1.6 .2 11.7

National team career

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Munzon is only eligible to play for the Philippine national basketball team as a "naturalized" player despite his Filipino heritage through his father since he acquired a Philippine passport after turning age 16 as per FIBA eligibility rules.[3] He instead represents the country through its national 3x3 team.

Notes

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  1. ^ The 2021 draft was composed of two drafts: the Gilas special round, which consists of 4 players reserved for the Gilas Pilipinas program, and the regular draft. Munzon was selected as the first pick of the regular draft.

References

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  1. ^ "Munzon". FIBA 3x3 World Tour 2019. FIBA. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Leongson, Randolph (January 24, 2019). "Birthday-boy Joshua Munzon gets timely gift as top D-League pick". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Terrado, Reuben (March 10, 2017). "Sorry to disappoint you, guys, but Fil-Am Joshua Munzon not eligible for Gilas duty". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Matel, Phillip (24 October 2019). "Joshua Munzon to skip this year's PBA draft". ESPN 5.
  5. ^ Li, Matthew (March 26, 2017). "After seesaw year, Fil-Am Munzon grows up". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Terrado, Reuben (January 31, 2017). "Saigon Heat let go of in-form Fil-Am guard Joshua Munzon in puzzling ABL move". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Terrado, Reuben (February 1, 2017). "Fil-Am Joshua Munzon signs up with Malaysia Dragons after parting with Saigon Heat". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Bacnis, Justine (December 13, 2017). "Where is Joshua Munzon?". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Chen, Jian (December 27, 2017). "Westports Malaysia Dragons Add Two Players to ABL 8 Roster". ASEAN Sports. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Dioquino, Delfin (September 21, 2018). "Fil-Am Joshua Munzon eyes PH as next stop". Rappler. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Leongson, Randolph (October 24, 2019). "PBA rookie pool just got thinner as Fil-Am Joshua Munzon skips draft". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  12. ^ Leongson, Randolph (September 3, 2020). "Jakarta 3x3 champs Munzon, Pasaol, Santillan, Rike reunite for local title bid". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "Top-ranked Munzon chases 3x3 Olympic dream, forgoes PBA draft". Rappler. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  14. ^ Dalupang, Denison Rey (June 7, 2019). "Munzon now 89th in the world in 3×3". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Ramos, Gerry (January 12, 2023). "Munzon-for-Ferrer move to NorthPort done as revised trade approved". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  16. ^ Ramos, Gerry (June 21, 2024). "Joshua Munzon signed to two-year extension by NorthPort". Spin.ph. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  17. ^ "Joshua Munzon Player Profile, Northport Batang Pier - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
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