Roger Pogoy’s marksmanship was on vivid display on Wednesday evening, much to the delight of the TNT KaTropa.
The 3-and-D specialist went 4-of-5 from deep en route to 22 points, and his fine shooting was a major factor in the KaTropa’s 123-118 conquest of the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup.
Three of his triples came in the final frame alone, one of which gave the Texters a 109-99 lead with 7:48 left.
Still, Pogoy said that it was just a product of the extra work he puts in during team practices.
“Siguro maganda lang gising. ‘Di, kasi every practice naman ineensayo ko yan. Yun nga palagi kong sinasabi — magbigay talaga ako ng oras para ma-practice yung shooting ko,” said the third-year guard moments after the match.
And his fine shooting has helped TNT to a 3-0 start, while also lifting them to a share of the top spot of the standings with sister team NLEX Road Warriors. Still, the Gilas Pilipinas stalwart could not help but wonder.
“Sana nung World Cup ganun ‘no? Yun ang ano eh.”
Pogoy, as well as his fellow flagbearers, had a difficult time finding their touch from three during the showpiece. Across five winless games, he only averaged 4.0 points on a measly 25-percent shooting clip from the outside.
“Kaya nga eh. Nakaka-disappoint, kasi nung World Cup sobrang panget ng shooting ko, tapos dito maganda,” said the 6-foot-2 Pogoy.
“First time din kasi eh. Siguro kapag mabigyan pa ng second chance, sana makabawi.”
The next World Cup is still four years from now. But the 30th Southeast Asian Games in December will be held here in Manila, and Pogoy himself is part of Gilas’ 15-man talent pool for that.
So should he be given the chance to play in the regional biennial meet, Pogoy hopes to shoot better.
“Oo, sana. Sana, sana. kung ma-lineup man sa SEA Games, sana, para makatulong naman.”
