CEBUANO hotshot Roger Pogoy made improvement with TNT KaTropa in the PBA last year as well as in his latest Gilas Pilipinas duty that drew the nod of the FIBA-Asia people.
For his solid stint in Gilas' 100-70 bashing of Indonesia in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers last February in Jakarta, Pogoy was hailed as one of the seven improved players in the FIBA event rudely interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He made the list with India's Muin Bek Hafeez, Iraq's Hassan Abdullah, Kazakhstan's Maxim Marchuk, New Zealand's Jordan Ngatai, Qatar's Abdelrahman Yehia Abdelhaleem and Syria's Abdulwahab Alhamwi.
Pogoy poured in 16 points on top of six rebounds in 22.8 minutes of action in his Gilas return after his involvement in the infamous Gilas-Australia brawl at the Philippine Arena in 2017.
In the previous Asian event, Pogoy averaged only 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16.7 minutes.
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"As a solid defensive wing who can score in multiple ways, Pogoy has been valuable to Gilas," said a Fiba.com report.
"Playing with a younger squad at the qualifiers, the national team needed him to shoulder a bit more of the load, and Pogoy responded with an efficient scoring game," the report added.
Pogoy was as vital with the KaTropa in their PBA Season 44 campaign that saw the team place second to San Miguel Beer in the Commissioner's Cup and third to Barangay Ginebra and Meralco in the Governors Cup.
His improved showing in the PBA led to his breakthrough inclusion in the Mythical Selection. He made the Mythical Second Team with teammate Troy Rosario, Magnolia's Ian Sangalang and Ginebra's Stanley Pringle and Japeth Aguilar.(SB)
