ROGER Pogoy hardly showed the effects of a hamstring injury that sidelined him for a couple of games after a torrid display of outside shooting in TNT's 97-96 thriller against San Miguel in the opener of the PBA Philippine Cup finals Sunday night.
Pogoy sizzled right from the get-go and scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the opening half to tow the grand slam-seeking Tropang 5G on the driver's seat.
And just when the Beermen mounted a massive fourth quarter comeback, the Cebuano guard was there to save the day for TNT by draining his final three pointer for the game that put his side on top for good, 97-96.
The 33-year-old guard admitted he's still not yet fully recovered from his hurting hamstring as all he did so far prior to the best-of-seven finals was shooting the basketball and doing some light jogging.
"Sa totoo lang, hindi pa ako nakasali ng 5-on-5. Nagtatakbo-takbo pa lang ako," he said.
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Pogoy suffered the injury during Game 2 of the semifinals series against Rain or Shine that made him missed TNT's last four games.
"Yun ang last na laro ko talaga," said the veteran gunner.
But he felt good during the warmup, prompting coach Chot Reyes to field him in at the five minute mark of the first quarter.
The period ended with Pogoy contributing eight points.
"Sabi ko pag pinasok ako, titira agad ako," he said with a smile. "As a basketball player, ganun naman talaga. Pag papalaruin ka, laro ka."
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Pogoy went 7-for-11 from the field including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also added two rebounds and two assists as TNT takes a 1-0 lead in the title series.(RG)
