Despite being opponents in the PBA bubble Finals, Ginebra coach Tim Cone has nothing but huge respect for TNT star Roger Pogoy.
After witnessing Pogoy's endgame performance, shooting threes after threes for TNT's late rally, the veteran PBA mentor couldn't help but compare him to PBA legend Allan Caidic.
"It's a completely different look but the ability to get shots and shoot them with hands in your face, and guys flying by him, it's Allan Caidic," Cone told sportswriters after Ginebra's 98-88 win against the TNT Tropang Giga in Game 4 of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup Finals Sunday night at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
Pogoy and Ginebra veteran guard LA Tenorio exchanged triples late in the payoff period, making it look like a three-point shootout inside the AUF gym.
Read: LA Tenorio shows nerves of steel for another superb endgame performance
The TNT sharpshooter unloaded back-to-back threes to overcome an 18-point deficit and trim it to within three, 88-85, with less than three minutes left but Tenorio responded with a triple of his own.
Tenorio once again unloaded a long bomb to counter Pogoy's trey to maintain a six-point lead, 94-88, with 1:43 to go.
The Ginebra playmaker eventually had the last laugh after taking the victory for a commanding 3-1 lead in the Finals series.
For Cone, that certain sequence and fiery showing by Pogoy ring a bell, recalling how Caidic scored 70 points in their game way back when he was still calling the shots for Alaska.
"I know what it's like to guard Allan and we have imports guarding him, we have everybody guarding him," said the 62-year-old Ginebra coach as he remembered Caidic's 68-point performance, with 15 triples, in Presto Tivoli's 175-159 victory against the Alaska Air Force in 1989.
"It's that same sense . It's like, 'Uh oh!' whenever he's open and he has a shot. When he's taking the shot, it's gonna go in. If it doesn't go in, it's a big surprise. The same thing used to be my feeling against Allan."
Read: ‘Best game of the whole bubble’
Pogoy scored 16 of his 34 points in the last quarter, adding six assists, four rebounds, and four steals without committing a turnover.
After the game, Pogoy extended his right hand to Cone but the multi-titled tactician refused to accept the handshake in jest.
Cone, after all, had nothing but praises for Pogoy and ended up giving him a hug while swearing in Tagalog as a joke.
"I was afraid I was going to burn if I touched his hand. He was amazing, he was absolutely amazing."