Healthy Roger Pogoy eyes Gilas final 12

VETERAN TNT shooter Roger Pogoy thought he would not be able to rejoin the Gilas Pilipinas training pool after fracturing his right pinky in Game 3 of the 2022-23 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals versus Barangay Ginebra last April.

The Cebuano hotshot failed to join the national team in its 16-day Europe training camp from June through the early days of July as he underwent treatment and rehab on his shooting hand.

But through sheer hard work and having the proper frame of mind, Pogoy managed to get the green light to join the Gilas Pilipinas training camp and went on to play two tune-up matches against Ateneo and Magnolia in Manila in July.

Roger Pogoy FILE PHOTO 

And on Thursday night, he contributed eight points, two rebounds and two assists in the national team’s triumphant debut versus Iran in the 2023 Heyuan WUS International Basketball Tournament in China.

Even without naturalized player Jordan Clarkson, 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto and PBA Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson, Gilas Pilipinas managed to dominate Iran’s B team, 76-65, in the pocket tournament held in Guangdong, China.

“First of all, I had to do a lot of catch up and somehow, I was hesitant because my doctor told me my hand wasn’t fully healed yet, but then gradually, I worked my way back and good thing, I was able to catch up with the rest of the team,” Pogoy said in Filipino in a recent interview with One Sports’ Carlo Pamintuan, which was posted at the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Facebook page.

The 31-year-old former Far Eastern University standout said his recent injury is still affecting him psychologically.

“I feel like I’m afraid to try because the injured hand was my shooting hand,” he said.

But now that he’s slowly getting used to the training, the bumps in practice and has three tuneup games under his belt, Pogoy shared that he is starting to get his groove back slowly but surely.

In fact, he has shifted his mind into going hard in order to make the Gilas final 12 lineup for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

He is hoping to represent the country in the world’s biggest basketball stage for the second straight time in his cage career.

“I never imagined myself still making it back to the Gilas pool. It’s such a big blessing indeed and have this chance to try to play for the second time in the World Cup,” said Pogoy, who averaged 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in over 17 minutes of play in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

“Well, one, to represent the country, and of course, now that I have a family of my own and have a baby, it gives me the extra motivation.”

Should he make the final 12, Pogoy hopes to erase the stigma of the Philippines’ winless campaign in the 2019 FIBA World Cup held in China.

The team, then handled by coach Yeng Guiao, lost all five of its matches, including blowout losses to world powerhouse squads Serbia and Italy in the group stage play.

With the way things are going, Pogoy sees a lot of positives with the current Gilas Pilipinas pool.

“I can see a lot of improvements within the team and the chemistry is there also,” noted Pogoy.