MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) Rookie Roger Pogoy played the best game of his young PBA career to power the TNT KaTropa to a 98-92 victory over the San Miguel Beermen in Game 3 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The versatile Pogoy tallied a career-high 22 points built on six three-pointers, while also grabbing seven rebounds in nearly 34 minutes of action. His efforts helped the KaTropa surge to a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven semifinals series against the two-time defending All-Filipino champions.
"Similar to our last game, I think it's our defense," TNT coach Nash Racela said after the game. "I think Coach Leo (Austria) did a great job of adjusting his rotations and his schemes. For a while, we were surprised, but it was good that we were able to recover."
Pogoy scored nine of his 22 points in the final quarter, including a booming three-pointer with 3:28 left that made it a six-point game, 92-86, in favor of the KaTropa.
The Beermen were able to come to within two points, 90-92, following two free throws by Chris Ross with 1:42 left. But Pogoy secured a crucial offensive rebound, then assisted on Kelly Williams' lay-up that again made it a two-possession game, 94-90, with just 1:22 left to play.
From then on, the TNT defense took over. They forced June Mar Fajardo into a turnover with 1:04 left, capping a miserable game that saw the reigning MVP struggle for 16 points and nine boards, while committing four turnovers in 31 foul-plagued minutes.
The KaTropa also forced Gabby Espinas into an awkward, off-balanced lay-up with 38 seconds remaining, allowing Troy Rosario and Ranidel de Ocampo to ice the game at the free throw line.
De Ocampo finished with a team-high 24 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Jayson Castro had 11 points and 12 assists, while three other KaTropa finished in double-digits.
Meanwhile, Marcio Lassiter and Alex Cabagnot had 18 points each for the Beermen, but they combined to make only 13 of their 38 attempts from the field. After shooting 16 three-pointers in the series opener, they made only six of 26 attempts in Game 3.
"We're just thankful, because the referees are finally calling the fouls on June Mar," Racela said. "Last game, he played 40 minutes, and he had just one foul. At least today, they were seeing it, and they were calling that. That gave us a good chance."
With Fajardo in foul trouble, the Beermen struggled to get into a rhythm, and shot only 44% from the field. The KaTropa shot a 49%.
Game 4 of the series is on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
"It's a series of adjustments," said Racela. "My promise is to spend more time on video. Mag-aaral ako ng mag-aaral, because it's my job."
TNT came out on top in a back-and-forth first half, with a lay-up by Castro and a triple by Larry Fonacier sandwiching Santos's jumper for a 53-49 lead for the KaTropa.
They then opened the third on an 8-0 blast, six of which were courtesy of Moala Tautuaa. TNT led by as much as 12 points, the last at 63-51, before SMB answered with an 11-0 blast of their own to again make it a nip-and-tuck contest.
TNT took the lead for good, thanks to veteran forward Danny Seigle, who caught the SMB defense napping on back-to-back possessions for reverse lay-ups that turned an 80-81 deficit into an 84-80 advantage. An and-1 by De Ocampo capped the 7-0 blast, and the KaTropa never trailed again.
The scores:
TNT 98 - De Ocampo 24, Pogoy 22, Castro 11, Williams 11, Tautuaa 10, Rosario 9, Seigle 4, Fonacier 3, Rosales 2, Reyes 2, Carey 0, Golla 0, Sumalinog 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
SMB 92 - Cabagnot 18, Lassiter 18, Fajardo 16, Ross 12, Santos 12, Espinas 8, Heruela 4, Tubid 4, Reyes 0, Agovida 0.
Quarter scores: 25-30, 53-49, 72-72, 98-92.
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