By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Roger Pogoy’s insane shooting night was all that the TNT Tropang Giga needed to cruise past NorthPort Batang Pier in convincing fashion, 117-93, in the ongoing 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
After a tightly contested first half, Pogoy caught fire in the third frame and put on a shooting exhibition that helped the Tropang Giga pull away and never look back.
The TNT sniper unleashed 32 big points built from an impressive 8/9 shooting from the three-point range and 4/5 from the perimeter area.
The whole TNT bench stood up in excitement every time Pogoy held the leather, expecting the former FEU Tamaraw to continue his hot shooting.
Pogoy’s personal scoring avalanche with only three minutes remaining in the second half established TNT’s will and set the tone for them heading into the last two quarters.
Soon as the whistle was blown in the third quarter, Robert Bolick and import Prince Ibeh did their all to keep up with TNT’s scoring but Cameron Oliver joined the splash party and made things worse for the Batang Pier.
Oliver flirted with another double-double and finished the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block.
Meanwhile, the returning Mikey Williams also dazzled in his 2022 Commissioner’s Cup debut and backstopped Pogoy and Oliver with 19 points.
Williams missed their game against the Magnolia Hotshots Chicken Timplados due to a game-time decision. He made up for it in his first game back after losing in the Philippine Cup finals against the San Miguel Beermen.
The Tropang Giga will have the chance to extend their winning streak to two on October 19 when they square off with the NLEX Road Warriors.
On the other hand, NorthPort can return to the winning column if they take down Paul Lee and the entire Magnolia squad on October 16.
