Poy Erram may have had a forgettable night for TNT, but Roger Pogoy feels thankful for the 6-foot-8 slotman for helping him gain much-needed confidence, which ultimately led to a historic outing.
The 6-foot-2, 3-and-D specialist was scoreless in the first 12 minutes of their match versus Alaska. But he then broke through early in the second quarter with a three-pointer off an assist by Erram.
“Pasalamat din ako kay Poy. First tira ko, siya nagpasa,” Pogoy said.
The Far Eastern University product then scored 18 more in the said period alone en route to 21 points. That, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon, is the most by a TNT player since import KJ McDaniels produced 22 in the third quarter of the team’s 116-113 victory over the Meralco Bolts in last season’s Governors’ Cup action.
Pogoy didn’t stop there, carrying over his fine play in the second half. He eventually finished with a new career-high of 45 points to lead the Tropang GIGA to a 100-95 victory over the Aces.
“Well, ine-expect namin from RR offensively, kailangan may numbers siya lagi. Kailangan ma-sustain niya ‘yung numbers na ‘yun every given night. Ma-swerte kami,” said TNT head coach Bong Ravena post-game.
The Cebuano cager nailed 10 triples, equaling the TNT franchise record which he also set in his previous career-high of 38 points versus Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in last season’s Commissioner’s Cup.
Pogoy, though, said that he was never aware that he was scoring that much. Instead, he had locked in on helping TNT, who played catch-up ball majority of the match no thanks to a sluggish start.
“Hindi ko alam na ganun na pala iniiskor ko. Kasi ang inisiip ko talaga ‘yung panalo eh, tapos palagi pa kami naghahabol, so gusto ko lang talaga manalo. Hindi ko naisip na ganun na pala iniiskor ko,” he said.
Pogoy himself admitted that it was tough for him as well during the game’s early moments since he and the team didn’t have much time to do 5-on-5 practices. But it makes him extra glad to have performed well.
“Nung una nahirapan ako kasi ilang beses lang kami nag-5-on-5,” he shared.
“Buti na lang maganda ‘yung shooting ko ngayon, at nakatulong sa team. ;Yun nakuha namin panalo.”
Moving forward, Pogoy knows that it will be a challenge for him to sustain this kind of play in the next games. But for him, everything’s well as long as he does what he can do and help his team win.
“‘Yun ang pinaka-mahirap, ‘yung i-sustain ‘yung ganung laro. Gagawin ko lang talaga ‘yung best ko na ganun palagi. Kahit hindi ganun ‘yung points as long as makatulong ako sa team, panalo ‘yung team namin, okay ako dun.”
