FIL-AM Joshua Munzon felt at ease when Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 held a seven-day camp at the INSPIRE Sports Academy last week.

After all, 3×3 basketball has been his home for the last couple of years.

“I definitely can say that it felt natural,” said Munzon, currently the country’s top-ranked 3×3 player. “Just going out there was like riding a bike. I can’t say it was easy but we were able to shake off some rust.”

In the camp were 30th Southeast Asian Games gold medalists CJ Perez and Mo Tautuaa, the Philippines’ No. 6 Karl Dehesa and No. 8 Santi Santillan.

The camp was done in preparation for the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament which takes place on May 26-30 in Graz, Austria.

Though the first half of the camp only lasted for seven days, Munzon said that twice-a-day sessions they had were both brutal and fruitful.

“It was very productive and we were able to accomplish a lot. Good to be around a lot of people after being locked out for so long,” said the 6-foot-4 gunner out of Long Beach, California.

“We were able to shake the rust off and have an idea on what our offense and defense will be,” he added.

The 3×3 standouts left the Calamba bubble last Saturday but will be returning later this week, with No. 2 Alvin Pasaol is set to join them as well.

Munzon said that the second week will be crucial for their chemistry-building and for conditioning.

“I just think we just continue to build on what we have been working on, the chemistry and just be better,” said Munzon.

Having faced the world’s best in FIBA 3×3’s pro circuit, Munzon knows the quality of the opposition.

This time around, however, he knows that there will be more pressure on his shoulders as only three teams will advance to the Tokyo Olympics, where 3×3 basketball will make its debut.

“This is very big,” said Munzon. “I can say that this is the biggest opportunity I have had in my career. Truly a huge honor and the possibility of being in the Olympics is something that I never thought I would be in.”

Munzon is grateful to Smart and the SBP for making this dream possible.

“I’m very grateful to Boss Al (Panlilio), Boss Butch (Antonio), and Coach Ronnie (Magsanoc) for keeping this OQT dream alive. We all know how hard it is to train in this pandemic but they were able to do it,” said Munzon.

“It’s amazing to be part of this and to be in this position. We hope to make the country proud.”