Pogoy rises to the occasion after getting green light to score for Gilas

MANILA, Philippines — Roger Pogoy is a rookie for both Gilas and in his pro ball club.On Friday night, he conducted himself like he wasn’t.

Playing a smaller and barely-tested Myanmar team, the Gilas cadet made the most out of the opportunity. He uncorked long bombs, hustled for steals and muscled his way to grab rebounds.

But Pogoy's most noteworthy feats that night? Him sparking the Gilas run. Him hiking the lead to a hundred points.

“Siguro dahil lang din sa mga coaches ko at mga kasama ko,” Pogoy said of his performance. “Palagi nila akong sinasabihan, kapag open, tira lang.”

“Kahit si coach Jimmy (Alapag) laging sinasabi, kapag open na, huwag nang i-atake. May attackers naman (for that). Tira nalang namin nina Matthew (Wright) and Allein (Malksi).”

Pogoy is one of the four cadets who made the 12-man Gilas lineup. Three of them, including Wright and Maliksi, have been known to be streaky shooters.

On the opening salvo of their game against the Burmese side, Pogoy sank three triples—in successive fashion. His final trey in the same period was the one that capped Gilas’ 17-unanswered points. Oh, and it also served as a cushion for the team for the runs that came.

And being the humble youngster that he is, Pogoy offered that Gilas simply had all the advantages on their side.

“Siguro ano, lamang lang kami kasi medyo malalaki lang kami. Tapos bago pa ‘yung sistema ng Myanmar,” he noted.

His final stat line read: 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Asked about his shot that sent the lead to 100 points, the 5-foot-11 guard said he wasn’t really paying attention, as he was simply focused at the task at hand.

“Basta sabi lang ni coach, gawin lang namin ‘yung tama: huwag namin biruin ‘yung laban,” he closed.