WHEN Joe Devance came out of retirement to play for Barangay Ginebra once again, he saw an almost entirely new crew altogether.
While old teammates like Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson are still the faces of the team, it’s a completely different Ginebra squad altogether with the likes of Stephen Holt, Maverick Ahanmisi and prized rookie RJ Abarrientos now the staples in Cone’s rotation.
It just pains Devance that he couldn’t get his 13th title with this new talented crew, as he watched helplessly from the bench when Ginebra lost Games 5 and 6 to give TNT the PBA Governors Cup title last week.
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“I really tried, I couldn’t get past the pain. I took everything I could and just couldn’t get past. It is what it is. That’s life. We’ve got to move on,” Devance said.
“I’m proud to have played with those guys. They’re young, talented, I hope they saw the sacrifice, the pain that I went through to help uplift them.”
Sacrifice in order to breakthrough
Devance certainly took note of the talent that this team has, especially with all the new names at Ginebra still in sick bay.
Yet to return for Ginebra are Gilas Pilipinas’ high flying forward Jamie Malonzo, promising two-way guard Jeremiah Gray and sweet-shooting big Isaac Go who got injured midway through this conference.
The future looks bright for Barangay Ginebra, but Devance bared that if they want to breakthrough, they have to know how to sacrifice.
“I hope they can sacrifice. I hope this next generation can play for each other, with each other. That’s what I’m hoping for. I sent that message to them and we’ll see. Good luck to Ginebra. I gave it my all. I love you guys, I love this whole experience,” he said.
“They’re gonna have to understand the meaning of sacrifice. The meaning of ego less. The meaning of playing for each other. That I hope is the lesson learned in this.”
As someone who’s won championships left and right, that is something that he will never get tired of preaching to his younger peers.
“That’s one thing that I took to heart and I feel like is one of the main contributors of my 12 championships. So I hope these young guys take that lesson and continue it,” Devance said.
“They have the talent, they just have to be willing, they have to be passionate to play for each other.”
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One guy he was particularly excited about is Abarrientos, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft.
Though it wasn’t quite the series the promising young star out of Far Eastern University was hoping for, he did show what he’s made of after playing his best game in a Ginebra uniform with the season on the line.
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In the loss, Abarrientos dropped 31 points – 27 of which coming in the second half – proving that he’s not about to let a few bad games shake his confidence.
That’s exactly what excites Devance about him and he believes he’ll only get better.
“He turned up. He did turn up. He’s gonna have a long journey, a long career. He’s amazing to watch already, right?” Devance said.
“I can’t wait to see him four, five years from now how he’s going to be dominating the league.”
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