MORE than his little spat with Jericho Cruz, Roger Pogoy was more concerned about TNT’s loss to San Miguel and a coming PBA Philippine Cup game against Barangay Ginebra.
Pogoy admitted the defending champions were totally outplayed by the Beermen in a 115-99 loss on Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that snapped the Tropang Giga’s five-game winning run.
[See Cruz plays down spat with former teammate Pogoy]
He cited how defense was lacking on TNT’s play, allowing the league-leading Beermen to shoot 53 percent from the field, including 11-of-24 from three-point range for a high of 45 percent.
“Pangit ng depensa namin. Hindi kami maka-stop, nare-reboundan pa kami. Talo kami sa rebound,” he said afterwards.
San Miguel did clobber TNT off the boards, 60-40, with Rodney Brondial and June Mar Fajardo collaring 18 and 16, respectively.
The 30-year-old Cebuano guard said that should be a concern for the reigning all-Filipino champion considering it will next face Barangay Ginebra on Sunday.
“Ginebra lalo na yun ang lakas rumebound. May Christian (Standhardinger), may Japeth (Aguilar). Kaya dapat tutukan namin yung rebounding,” Pogoy added.
Pogoy finished with 11 points for TNT, which fell to a 7-3 record for fourth place.
He had a spat with Cruz late in the game when they were both assessed technical fouls. But like Cruz, Pogoy said the confrontation was all but part of the game.
“Lambingan lang din yun,” he said, echoing what the gungho San Miguel guard also said during the post-game press conference regarding the incident.
“Wala lang yun. Natural lang sa amin yun,” said Pogoy, who once shared the TNT backcourt with Cruz.
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