ANGELES CITY – Roger Pogoy hopes he could sustain his big game on Sunday moving forward in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The TnT Tropang Giga wingman erupted for a career-best 45 points in the team’s 100-95 win over Alaska at the resumption of the season’s lone conference at the Angeles University Foundation gym, a performance he spiked with 10 three-pointers in the first ever game to be held inside the PBA bubble.
The 45 points of Pogoy eclipsed his previous high of 38 and is the most scored by a local player in a game since Stanley Pringle dropped 50 for NorthPort in a 133-115 win over Columbian Dyip during the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup.
His 10 treys meanwhile, were the most in a game since Chris Ross made the same number of three-pointers for San Miguel in Game 2 of the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals against Rain or Shine.
Now, the former Far Eastern University standout is keeping his fingers crossed he’ll be able to sustain his fine form.
“Yun ang pinaka-mahirap, yung i-sustain yung ganung laro,” he said. “Kahit hindi naman ganun yung points, as long as makatulong ako sa team at manalo, ok na yun.”
Pogoy credits his physical conditioning for a fiery performance that produced the third most points scored in TnT franchise history.
“Unang-una, kundisyon ako. Hindi lang talaga ako sanay sa 5-on-5, pero yung conditioning ko andiyan naman,” he said.
The Gilas Pilipinas stalwart added he was not aware he already scored that many points and three pointers as his focus was on helping the Tropang Giga win especially after trailing by as many as 17 points early on.
“Hindi ko alam na ganun na yung score ko kasi ang iniisip ko talaga yung panalo, tapos palagi pa kaming naghahabol. So wala talaga yun sa isip ko,” said Pogoy, who suffered a small cut just above his left eye late in the game following a head collision with Mike DiGregorio.
Too bad, the man who helped him get off his first basket for the game - Poy Erram - was no longer around to see how brilliant Pogoy’s play unraveled.
Erram was ejected in the third period after incurring his second technical foul for the game in his debut as a Tropang Giga.
“Pasalamat din ako kay Poy, kasi first tira ko siya ang nagpasa,” he said.
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