THE price Joe Devance had to pay for playing through a torn plantar fasciitis is a couple of weeks on sick bay as he's set to have surgery on his injured foot in the next few days.
Devance told reporters after Game Five about his plans to go under the knife, a procedure that he put on hold while playing 12 more games in the homestretch of the Philippine Cup.
While admitting that he's feeling bad about the loss, especially after being Ginebra's best player in the final two games, Devance is not regretting his decision to play through the pain.
"It was all worth it. Just to battle with these guys, they played their hearts out. It was all worth it. I don't regret anything," Devance said while hoping his decision won't have serious repercussions on his future.
"Hopefully my foot won't be affected later in life. But I'll worry about that when it happens," he added.
[See Tim Cone admits: 'SMB simply overwhelmed us']
Despite falling short, the do-it-all forward believes the Gin Kings gave San Miguel everything they could handle in the finals - and longs for another shot at the champions.
"I mean, we faced a tough San Miguel team. They played great the whole conference. They have too many weapons. We tried our best but we just couldn't get the win," Devance continued.
"San Miguel played great, we'll see what we can do next conference."
[See SMB completes title hat-trick after holding off Ginebra in Game Five]