Justine Sagaya Baltazar (born February 19, 1997), nicknamed "Balti", is a Filipino professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Converge FiberXers The Converge FiberXers are a professional basketball team owned by Converge ICT. The team competes in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The franchise began after acquiring the former Alaska Aces franchise on March 23, 2022. History ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA). He is listed at 6 feet 9 ½ inches (2.07 m). Baltazar played his college career with the

De La Salle Green Archers The De La Salle Green Archers and Lady Archers are the varsity teams representing De La Salle University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, among other leagues. The "Green Archer" is the traditional university mascot. Whi ...

and had a short stint with the

San Juan Knights The San Juan Knights (also abbreviated as SJK) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Juan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its ...

of the MPBL. In 2022, he would make his professional debut with the Pampanga Delta before moving to Japan's

B.League The B.League is a men's professional basketball league in Japan. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that was operated by the FIBA-affi ...

to play for the

Hiroshima Dragonflies The Hiroshima Dragonflies (in Japanese: 広島ドラゴンフライズ) are a professional basketball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. In October 2014 they commenced competing in the Western Conference of the Japanese National Basketball League. ...

. In 2023, Baltazar returned to domestic basketball to once again play for his hometown, this time with the

Pampanga Giant Lanterns The Pampanga Giant Lanterns (shortened as PGL and also known as Pampanga Giant Lanterns – AMG3 Construction for sponsorship reasons) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Fernando, Pampanga. The team competes in the Maha ...

in both the

Pilipinas Super League The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) was founded in December 2021 by former officials the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, namely its former CEO Ro ...

(PSL) and later the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's regional professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 30 teams. Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion and then-Senator Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is ...

(MPBL). During his stint with the Giant Lanterns, he won numerous accolades, including three championships, three finals MVPs, and two season MVPs across both leagues. He became the first player in the MPBL to win two finals MVPs and season MVPs, where he won in both 2023 and 2024. He would later be selected first overall by the

during the

PBA season 49 draft The PBA season 49 draft was the 39th edition of the PBA draft and the draft for the 2024–25 PBA season. It was held at Glorietta Activity Center in Makati on July 14, 2024, marking its first time at the venue since 2004. The league determine ...

in 2024. He was also selected to three

UAAP The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univer ...

Mythical Teams while playing for De La Salle.

Early life and education

Baltazar was born on February 19, 1997 in

Mabalacat Mabalacat, officially Mabalacat City (; ), is a component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people. Mabalacat is in the urban core of Metro Clark, also known as Metro ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

. He moved to

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

in 2012 to attend the Nazareth School of National University. In college, he attended

De La Salle University De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...

High school and college career

Baltazar played in the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univ ...

(UAAP) in high school and college. In the juniors' (high school) division he played for the Nazareth School of

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

Bullpups. Baltazar led the team to a runner-up finish in

UAAP Season 77 UAAP Season 77 is the 2014–15 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The season host is the University of the East with Carmelita Mateo as president. Eight universities are competing in fifteen sports to ...

in 2015 and to the title in

UAAP Season 78 UAAP Season 78 was the 2015–2016 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). It opened on September 5, 2015, almost two months after the usual July opening of the league during previous seasons, due to the shi ...

in 2016. He later transferred to

to play for the

, also of the UAAP, for college.

Professional career

Pampanga Delta (2022)

Baltazar entered the PBA season 47 draft but later withdrew after an offer from a team from the Japanese

. He would later make his professional debut with his hometown team Pampanga Delta of the NBL–Philippines playing a game on the same day as the PBA draft. He played for Pampanga before in the 2019–20 season, when the NBL–Philippines was still an amateur league.

Hiroshima Dragonflies (2022)

In May 2022, Baltazar signed with the

of the B.League for the 2022–23 season. He was set to join the team after the conclusion of his stint with the Delta in the 2022 NBL–Philippines season. However, he was released on December 20, 2022. On January 4, 2023, Baltazar announced his commitment to play for the

Seoul Samsung Thunders Seoul Samsung Thunders () is a professional basketball team, competing in the Korean Basketball League. Ever since the club was founded in 1978, they have been associated with Samsung Electronics. Initially based in Suwon, they relocated to Seoul ...

of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

. However, he failed for show up for the team and the KBL would eventually ban him from the league for two years for a breach of contract.

Pampanga Giant Lanterns (2023–2024)

Baltazar then returned to representing his hometown, this time with the

franchise. In the

, he led the team to its first professional league title after defeating the

Davao Occidental Tigers The Davao Occidental Tigers (also known as Davao Occidental Tigers – Cocolife due to sponsorship reasons) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Davao metropolitan area and representing the province of Davao Occidental. The ...

in the finals of the 2022–23 DUMPER Cup. He stayed with the franchise for the 2023 season of the

, helping the homegrown-laden team start the season 17–0 and going on to clinch the best record in the league that season at 26–2. He then went on to become season MVP and Finals MVP as the Giant Lanterns swept the

Bacoor City Strikers The Bacoor City Strikers were a Filipino professional basketball team, based in Bacoor, Cavite. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and played their home games at Strike Gymnasium. The Strikers also prev ...

in the

2023 MPBL finals The 2023 MPBL finals was the championship series of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's (MPBL) 2023 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. In the best-of-five playoff, the North Division champion Pampanga Giant Lantern ...

. In the succeeding 2024 season, Balti continued to lead Pampanga as they tied for the best regular season record and back-to-back berths into the national finals. He then went on to lead the team to back-to-back titles after sweeping the

Quezon Huskers The Quezon Huskers are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Lucena, a highly urbanized city in the province of Quezon. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. ...

in the

2024 MPBL finals The 2024 MPBL finals was the championship series of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's (MPBL) 2024 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. In the best-of-five playoff, the North Division champion Pampanga Giant Lanterns d ...

, earning his second MPBL Finals MVP nod, becoming the first team to do so. He also became the first player to win two regular season MVP nods.

Converge FiberXers (2024–present)

On July 3, 2024, Baltazar would declare for the PBA draft once again, this time for season 49. He was selected with the first overall pick by the

, but committed to finished the 2024 MPBL season with the Giant Lanterns as per his contract with the team. On December 11, 2024, he officially signed with Converge.

National team career

Baltazar has played for the Philippine national team. He suited up for the national team in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers and the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament both in mid-2021.

Personal life

Baltazar is married to Rizza with whom he has a son.

Career statistics

PBA

''As of the end of 2024–25 season''

Season-by-season averages

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Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) app ...

, 24 , , 31.5 , , .511 , , .400 , , .000 , , .700 , , 10.1 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 12.2 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 24 , , 31.5 , , .511 , , .400 , , .000 , , .700 , , 10.1 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 12.2

MPBL

''As of the end of 2023 season''

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , 2019–20 , align=left ,

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 21.5 , , .520 , , .000 , , .500 , , 12.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 2.0 , , 11.0 , - , align=left ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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, 36 , , 31 , , 31.3 , , .544 , , .250 , , .635 , , 16.9 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 17.1 , - , align=left ,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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, 33 , , 30 , , 30.7 , , .505 , , .179 , , .689 , , 16.1 , , 5.8 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 15.7

B.League

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2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

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Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

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References

External links

Justine Baltazar via Genius Sports (MPBL)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltazar, Justine 1997 births Living people 21st-century Filipino sportsmen Basketball players from Pampanga Converge FiberXers draft picks Converge FiberXers players De La Salle Green Archers basketball players Filipino expatriate basketball people in Japan Filipino men's basketball players Hiroshima Dragonflies players MPBL All-Stars Pampanga Giant Lanterns players People from Mabalacat Philippines men's national basketball team players Power forwards San Juan Knights players