ROGER Pogoy put on a shooting clinic Saturday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Proof he’s one of the top shooting guards in the league today, the TNT gunner exploded for a game-high 32 points on a high 88 percent shooting clip from three-point range (8-of-9) to steer the Tropang Giga to a 117-93 bounce-back win over NorthPort at the Philsports Arena.
The pride of Talisay, Cebu was 12-of-14 (85 percent) overall from the field as the team finally punched a win in the standings following a 94-92 heartbreaker against Magnolia in its debut game.
Pogoy was actually astounding in the first half where he went a perfect 10-of-10 from the floor, including 6-of-6 from three-point range as he already had 26 points at the break where the Tropang Giga sat on a 58-44 lead.
He was in the zone in the second quarter, exploding for 21 points in personally outscoring the entire Batang Pier, who could only tallied 20 during the period.
Roger Pogoy in record books
His immaculate numbers are now ranked the best among local players in a half, and is no. 2 overall including imports, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.
Had he not suffered leg cramps late in the game, Pogoy could have done more.
But coach Chot Reyes opted to rest his starting shooting guard who played for just a total of 28 minutes.
Pogoy though downplayed his shooting exploits, saying he just often found himself open for those shots.
“Aggressive lang ako this game kasi ang sakit ng pagkatalo namin nung last game. Sa team naman namin kung sino yung open, siya yung titira. Siguro ako lang talaga yung laging open,” said the guard out of Far Eastern University.
But coach Chot Reyes begs to disagree, knowing this one was Pogoy’s night.
“They just know how to get the ball to the hot guy. So in the first half they knew Roger was hot. So credit to his teammates, everyone was looking for Roger,” said the TNT mentor.
“Even Cam (Oliver), you can notice that he’s sacrificing his shots, making sure that Roger gets his shots.”
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