JOE Devance will be a game-time decision for Barangay Ginebra as it tries to take the upperhand for the first time in the PBA Governors Cup Finals against TNT.
The 42-year-old power forward hurt his knee again the previous game and never returned in the second half of Game 4 which the Kings won, 106-92.
Devance only saw action for four minutes and was quickly taken out the moment he complained about pain in his knee.
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“He had just a recurrence of his knee bruise. He has a bruise between his knees. And he clicked on again and hit bone to bone, and now it’s bruised again,” said coach Tim Cone.
“I don’t know when he’ll be back or how he will react.”
The 6-foot-8 veteran initially hurt the same knee during Game 5 of the team’s semifinals series against San Miguel following a collision with import EJ Anosike.
He missed the series-clinching win against the Beermen and even after a week’s rest prior to the finals, Cone still opted not to utilize him in the first two games of the title series despite Devance dressing for both matches.
But down 0-2, the Ginebra coach gambled on having him and fellow veteran LA Tenorio inserted in his rotation, leading the Kings to win the next two games and tie the best-of-seven series.
The numbers of the 12-time champion may not be what they used to be, but his presence certainly gave the Kings an added manpower in a depleted frontcourt orphaned by the injured Isaac Go and Jamie Malonzo.
Cone was still hopeful Devance will be able to play in the second half of Game 4, but was ruled out by Ginebra’s battery of trainers.
“The trainers ruled him out right before the start of the second half after they saw him in the locker room,” said the 66-year-old mentor.
Now the Kings could only hope would be able to play in Wednesday’s Game 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, or at least good enough to comeback for the rest of the series.
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