JOE Devance has had enough dealing with pain relievers during practice and every game.
The Barangay Ginebra veteran is set to undergo stem cell procedure to get him in better shape for the coming 45th season of the PBA.
The 38-year-old Devance will be leaving for Germany this week to seek treatment for the foot and knee injuries that had bothered him the past three seasons.
The only downside however, is Devance missing at least three weeks or about a month for the Kings in their campaign for the Philippine Cup.
"I have to sit out two or three weeks. I’m getting four shots, and (I have to sit out), three weeks after the shot," he said over the weekend.
The absence of Devance denied the Kings another ceiling in the all-Filipino Cup following the decision of 7-foot Greg Slaughter to take a basketball sabbatical.
Devance isn't sure if the German clinic where he will seek treatment is the same one which did the procedure to the late NBA great Kobe Bryant fo the degeneration of his knees.
He admitted having to pay for his own travel and stem cell procedure in the hope of 'playing basketball just pain-free.'
"It’s just reality. I take pain relievers every day just to practice. Its’ just the reality," he repeatedly said.
"When I first started when I was younger, it was small pain relievers. Then it moved up to two and then three (pain relievers)."
"So I’m really, really excited of the thought of the steam cell thing working for me."
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