CEBU, Philippines — Cebuano PBA star Roger Ray ‘RR’ Pogoy of the TNT Tropang Giga is set to join the Gilas Pilipinas training pool at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna with hopes of donning the country’s tri-colors again in an international tournament.
The 25-year-old pride of Talisay City first suited up for the Philippine men’s basketball team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup hosted by China.
Prior to that, Pogoy formed part of the national squad that bagged gold medals at the 2016 SEABA Cup in Bangkok, Thailand and at the 2017 SEABA Championship in Quezon City.
Pogoy, the 2017 PBA Rookie of the Year and a three-time All-Star, heads to the ‘Calambubble’ on Friday with teammate Troy Rosario and Raul Soyud of the NLEX Road Warriors.
Both Pogoy and Soyud are coming off stellar performances in last year’s pandemic-disrupted PBA Season 45 Philippine Cup played in Clark bubble.
The 6-foot-2 Pogoy, who averaged 20.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game, was nominated for the Best Player of the Coference award, which was eventually won by Stanley Pringle of the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
Soyud, on the other hand, was among the candidates for the Most Improved Player plum, which was bagged the Ginebra’s Prince Caperal
At the ‘Calambubble’, Pogoy, Soyud and Rosario will train alongside a bunch of pro and amateur cagers vying for slots to the Phl team that will go up against South Korea and Indonesia in the third and final window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers next month. — EBV