BARANGAY Ginebra welcomed back the return of veteran big man Joe Devance especially with Christian Standhardinger still totally not yet settled down with his role in the team.
Joe Devance return
The 39-year-old Fil-Am Devance played his first game with the Kings in their last three outings – but first in the Bacolor bubble – and gave the reigning PBA Philippine Cup champions a bit of a lift in their 83-77 win over Rain or Shine on Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym.
Devance was reinstated into the active roster in lieu of Jeff Chan and didn’t get to practice with the team against the Elasto Painters after arriving in Pampanga on the morning of the game itself.
Coach Tim Cone still fielded Devance despite the lack of practice and played him for four minutes just to break him on the court after coming off a knee injury that kept him out for two games in between the conference break.
“He’s been battling a knee injury. And he has not practiced with us for the last few weeks and so I think he was a little shocked when I put him into the game,” said Cone.
But having known Cone and his system, Devance will have no problem executing Ginebra’s plays even with his eyes closed.
“He knows us, he knows me, he knows what we do. I’m not afraid to put him out there in any situation,” added the Ginebra mentor.
While injecting the 6-foot-7 Devance in the active roster even without the benefit of a practice isn’t a concern for Cone, his physical condition remains questionable, which is what the Ginebra coach wanted to see that he gave him a few playing minutes on the court.
From the looks of it, Cone appeared to be very much satisfied, especially with the Kings clinching win no. 3 in six outings and bounced back from that stunning upset at the hands of Terrafirma Dyip.
“Now that we have him up here, you’re gonna see more of him (Devance). He hadn’t had any practice at all and we weren’t sure what kind of shape he’s in or anything.
“But he did really well. So you’re gonna see a lot more of him as the conference goes along.”
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