In the comedic highlight of a highly-physical encounter between TNT and Phoenix, Roger Pogoy admitted that he tripped all by himself – not because of Calvin Abueva.
The referees blew their whistles when Pogoy went down to the floor after jogging past Abueva. The latter was initially accused of tripping the third-year guard out of Far Eastern University.
But replays showed that the enigmatic forward did not make any contact with Pogoy. Officials then announced that it was an inadvertent whistle, so they called no foul.
“Akala ko napatid ako ni Calvin, napatid pala ako ng sarili kong paa,” admitted the 26-year-old Cebuano with a chuckle.
That incident was just one of many incidents in the game that was heated right from the start. A whopping total of six personalities were ejected, including Abueva.
Abueva got kicked out of the match with 7:03 to go in the fourth quarter for incurring a flagrant foul penalty two following his clothesline on KaTropa reinforcement Terrence Jones.
Pogoy said he and TNT already expected the game to be rough, since they know teams will do their best to get under Jones’s skin. The import averaged 42.0 points in his first two games in the league.
“Na-anticipate na namin yun, na ganoon talaga yung laro kanina. Kasi kumbaga baka asarin nila yung import namin. Na-anticipate na namin,” said Pogoy.
“Buti na lang hindi nag-ano yung import.”
Jones stayed composed, and he produced another 40-point performance after being limited to just 17 points in their loss to Stanley Pringle and NorthPort Batang Pier last Wednesday.
Pogoy was hardly affected of the game’s physicality as well. He finished with a career-high of 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting, along with five rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
Pogoy eclipsed his previous career-high of 30, which he coincidentally made against the Fuel Masters in the 2019 Philippine Cup, though it went for naught, as the KaTropa lost then, 84-93.
“Siguro swerte ako ‘pag dito ang laro at Phoenix ang kalaban, kasi last career-high ko sila rin kalaban eh, dito din (Ynares Center, Antipolo City) eh,” he recalled. “Siguro grace ni God talaga.”
Pogoy said that the ejections of the Semerad twins Tony and David and consultant Mark Dickel early in the match gave him an extra push to deliver, thus his new career-high.
“Ginanahan ako nung madami nang thrown-out. Lalo na yung [consultant] namin, thrown-out, at si Tony. Kaya ginanahan kami maglaro para sa kanila.”
