CLARK. – The seven-month break may have slowed down most of the players in the PBA 45th season restart but not to TNT Tropang Giga gunner RR Pogoy.
The 6-foot-2 guard showed up with guns ablaze in the bubble, erupting for a career-best performance and a consistent showing as TNT surged ahead in the opening week of the 2020 Philippine Cup.
Pogoy shot the lights out of the Smart 5G-powered Angeles University Sports and Cultural Center with a new career-high 45 points, spiked by 10 three pointers in TNT’s 100-95 win over Alaska in the opener.
He was steady with 11 points, nine rebounds, and two steals as the Tropang Giga cruised past Terrafirma 112-101 before playing with a sprained ankle in a 15-point, four-rebound job in a convincing 107-88 convincing victory against reigning champion San Miguel.
Those numbers propelled the 28-year-old guard from Minglanilla, Cebu to the first PBA Press Corps bubble Player of the Week for Oct. 11-18. Pogoy beat teammate Ray Parks Jr. and Phoenix Super LPG stalwart Matthew Wright for the weekly citation given by members of the media covering the PBA.
Rain or Shine guard Adrian Wong emerged as the first recipient of the PBAPC Rookie of the Week for being the first freshman to be named Best Player of the Game with 15 points, two rebounds, and two assists in the team’s gutsy 70-68 win over Northport.
Like TNT, the Elasto Painters, featuring four rookies, got off to a 3-0 start in the opening week.
“Hindi ko ini-expect na ganito kaganda ‘yung ilalaro ko pero noong lockdown kasi, kundisyon pa rin ako kaya masaya na nagbunga ‘yung pinagpaguran ko,” said Pogoy, the sharp-shooting Gilas Pilipinas sniper who normed 23. 7 points on 44-percent 3-point clip, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.
But as big as his numbers were during the opening week, Pogoy put premium on TNT’s sizzling 3-0 start as the most important stat so far for him.
“Happy ako kasi maganda performance, tapos nananalo pa ‘yung team. Sabi nga ng teammates ko, tuloy-tuloy lang daw. Wala pa dapat i-celebrate kasi four games pa lang. Malayo pa ito,” he added.
