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As Terrafirma awaits approval of the trade proposal that would send young star forward CJ Pérez to San Miguel so early, coach John Cardel is aiming to possibly catch Fil-American Joshua Munzon as the Dyip’s first overall pick in the rookie. 2021 PBA. Draft this March.
Cardel admitted that the team management’s decision to move Pérez was no longer a surprise after Terrafirma Governor Bobby Rosales hinted at a “major change within the team this offseason” earlier this week.
While the trade has yet to be finalized pending review by the trade committee, Cardel said he is strongly recommending that management find a reliable wingman who can take Perez’s place.
“We will look for someone to replace CJ, someone like him who can play multiple positions,” Cardel told ESPN5. “Munzon? I think he can (be considerate). We know he can really score, and he can really shoot too.”
6ft 4in Munzon comes with an impressive basketball resume that includes playing two seasons in the ASEAN Basketball League, preparing for the Saigon Heat Dragons and Westports Malaysia Dragons, and recently, working hard on the Chooks-to- Go 3×3 league.
Cardel will surely miss Perez, who has had a phenomenal freshman year after winning several awards in the 2019 season: Rookie of the Year, winning the Mythical First Team, Defensive Team, PBA Scoring Champion, and Team Rookie.
The former Lyceum Pirate superstar averaged 24.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals in the PBA bubble where he was nominated for Best Player of the Conference. Pérez is currently in the Gilas Pilipinas bubble at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba.
Being the loyal soldier that he is, Cardel said he respects management’s decision and will work on the pieces he has in a bid to lead the Dyip to the playoffs in the upcoming 2021 PBA season.
As it is, Cardel hinted at calling a big man for no. 8 in the first round of the rookie draft. Under Pérez’s proposed exchange with SMB, TerraFirma is positioned to get no. 8, along with bench players Gelo Alolino, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Russel Escoto.
The Terrafirma coach originally said they were considering Justine Baltazar, La Salle’s big man, as their first pick for this year’s draft. But the Mabalacat native, Pampanga, decided to skip this year’s rookie procedures and stick around for his final college season.
“Baltazar is very agile, and someone you can’t really say is a mere project (player) because he’s ready to play in the PBA,” Cardel said. “He can pitch, he can play the post and he can certainly call well, especially against big players who are so fast now. He can even play all 4 or 5 positions.”
While the rookie group has several quality big men, Cardel keeps his cards close to his chest for now.
La Salle’s athletic forward Jamie Malonzo and Troy Rike, both foreign players for Fil, would have been good options in the frontcourt, but Cardel doesn’t expect the big two to be available by the time they take their turn at the eighth pick.