DASMARINAS, Cavite - The numbers may not show it, but Joe Devance is certainly playing a big part in Barangay Ginebra's bid to regain back the PBA Governors Cup championship.
With young big man Isaac Go out with a knee injury, Cone has turned to his trusted center to serve as back up down low despite already retiring from the game a year ago.
And despite the short notice of his unplanned comeback, the 42-year-old Devance has been doing well especially in the Kings' ongoing semifinal battle with the San Miguel Beermen.
"He's really playing very well. Without him, I don't think we would be here playing San Miguel the way we are because obviously, there's no one guy who can compete with June Mar for 48 minutes," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
"As good as Japeth is, he can't compete with him (Fajardo) totally by himself. He needs to have breaks, he needs to have rest so he can be efficient against him. He can still be playing out there, but he's going to be slow to deny, slow to react because he's tired."
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So in comes JDV as Aguilar's reliever as a Fajardo stopper.
The 6-foot-7 Devance was scoreless in 10 minutes of play, but had two assists in Ginebra's 99-94 win in Game 3 of the semis Sunday night.
But he did provide some quality minutes that allowed Cone to rest Aguilar, who went on and finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in the victory that gave the Kings a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
"So these minutes Joe is giving to Japeth is really crucial to how we're doing it and that's the role of Isaac (Go) except at a little higher level and a little more minutes" added Cone.
Go is out indefinitely for the rest of the season-opening conference.
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"We're just really keeping Japeth fresh so he can battle June Mar because he's our only guy who can battle him," Cone said.
"Joe is really playing very well. He's doing what we're asking of him. It's just important for him not to step out too much and try to do too much at his age and his shape," the Ginebra coach added. "Sometimes he wants to get out and do a little bit more. So he just needs to stay on what we're asking him to do. That's the key for him."(RG)
