RR Pogoy / Photo by Inquirer
Three Cebuanos were named to the final 12-man lineup of Gilas Pilipinas for the Southeast Asian Basketball (Seaba) on May 12 to 18 in Manila.
These were Gilas veterans June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo and former Gilas Cadet standout Roger Ray Pogoy.
The trio were named by Gilas head coach Chot Reyes after their game against the Luzon All Stars in Quezon last Friday.
They will be joining Gilas regulars Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario, and Jayson Castro, and first-timers Matthew Wright, Raymond Almazan, Allein Maliksi and Jio Jalalon when they take on the Visayas All Stars in the last of the PBA All Star Games on Sunday evening at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.
Cebu Daily News got to talk to Pogoy, a former ace of the University of Cebu Baby Webmasters who made his way to Far Eastern University before eventually making it to the PBA with the Talk N Text Ka Tropa.
The 6-foot-3 forward expressed his excitement with donning the national team’s jersey in front of his hometown.
“I feel blessed, happy and excited to play in my home town, especially that I’ll be donning the Gilas colors,” said the pride of Talisay City.
Pogoy has hit the ground running in his rookie season for the Ka Tropa, norming 10 points and 4.6 rebounds in 25 minutes of action per game.
Pogoy credited his extra work on his perimeter shooting as his means of ascending the ladder in the veteran-laden Talk N Text squad.
Pogoy said that he and his Gilas mates are still finding their groove, playing with one another but added that they’re slowly getting there with each passing game.
“We’re still struggling because we just started playing together. But we have 10 days more to prepare so it’ll be okay,” Pogoy said.
The Gilas are in for a tough time against a Visayas All Star team that features Cebuanos Dondon Hontiveros and Aldrech Ramos along with former MVPs James Yap and Asi Taulava.