Roger Pogoy feels honored to be in contention for the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award, as it shows that his work inside the bubble did not go unnoticed.
The TNT gunner was one of the league’s top scorers of the shortened season. There, the Tropang Giga go all the way to the all-Filipino finals for the first time in seven years, although they bowed to Ginebra.
The 28-year-old averaged 20.0 points in 22 games, highlighted by his 45-point explosion right in the season resumption last Oct. 11 in a 100-95 win over Alaska. He also set a new career-high, which was previously 38 markers.
He had four more 30-point games after that impressive outing, two of which he did in Games Two (38) and Four (34) of the best-of-seven titular bout. This, as he gallantly tried to carry the fight for a Tropa side battered by injuries.
Pogoy also collected 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. And he showed yet again why he is one of the top two-way players in the league today with his 2.0 steals per outing, which is the fourth-best last season.
“Masaya ako na napasali ako sa BPC nomination. Sa ganun pa lang, alam mong maganda na ‘yung pinakita mo. Happy ako,” the four-year pro out of Far Eastern University humbly told Tiebreaker Times.
“Masaya ako kasi nakikita ko ‘yung kinalabasan ng hard work ko. Nakikita din ng mga fans, ng mga tao na napalabas ko talaga ‘yung talent ko.”
Pogoy was indeed one of the best players who shone amidst the rigors of the grueling season that took place at the Clark Freeport. But he wasn’t alone in making noise for the flagship MVP Group franchise.
His running mate, Ray Parks, is also a candidate for the BPC award after emerging as the statistical points race leader with 38.2. He posted norms of 22.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals.
Parks had 40 points two nights after Pogoy dropped 45, making history in the process. The two became the first local teammates in 30 years to score at least 40 in a game one after the other in a conference.
Meanwhile, vastly-improved Poy Erram – whom TNT acquired from NLEX in a three-team trade last February – is a favorite to be included in the Elite Five, a temporary alternative to the annual Mythical Five.
The 6-foot-7 slotman averaged 11.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 22 games, including double-doubles in each of the Finals’ five games as he showed that he is the big man that the Tropa has been longing for.
They may have fallen short of ending TNT’s half-a-decade title drought, but Pogoy nonetheless feels excited with what the future holds for them, especially with all these nominations they have earned.
“Maganda ‘yung future ng TNT, sa tingin ko. Kasi ‘yun nga, mga bata pa rin kami. Maganda sana talaga ‘yung ipinakita namin, kinulang lang talaga. Pero may mga chance pa naman.”
