Roger Pogoy’s PBA career-high of 31 points last June 2, unfortunately, got shadowed by the emotionally-charged game between TNT and Phoenix, which included the near-fight between Terrence Jones and the enigmatic Calvin Abueva.
But 10 days later, the third-year guard finally became the story, when the KaTropa battled Barangay Ginebra.
Pogoy reset his career-high by unloading 38 points built on a whopping 10 three-pointers, becoming only the fourth local player in league history to hit 10 treys in a game. The others are Marcio Lassiter, Kenneth Duremdes, and Allan Caidic.
Ultimately, TNT won, 104-96, to gain a share of the leadership of the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup standings.
“Parang bine-bless talaga ako ni Lord eh. Two straight games na career-high ko eh. Siguro ano.. yun, masaya lang ako kasi nagbunga din yung pinaghirapan ko sa ensayo,” said the Far Eastern University product after the victory.
But as glad as he is that his hard work has paid off nicely, Pogoy gave credit to their star import Terrence Jones.
The NBA veteran did not unleash 40 big points this time, but he notched a triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 16 assists against just two turnovers. And most of his assists had the Cebuano cager as the recipient.
“Dun talaga ako nakakuha ng rhythm ko. Una pa lang siya na nagpasa sa’kin,” Pogoy said. “Palaging sinasabi ni coach Mark [Dickel] na dapat magready kami kasi magaling pumasa si Terrence [kasi] nakafocus lahat yung depensa sa kanya.
“At lagi niya ‘kong sinasabihan na every time na ipasa niya yung bola sakin dapat itira ko daw, ‘di na ko magdalawang isip. Kaya yun, kumpiyansa ako, siya na nagsabi nun na itira ko e.”
