Joe Devance is not letting a bad foot hinder his desire to help keep Barangay Ginebra San Miguel alive in the PBA Governors' Cup semifinals.
In fact, winning is all what matters for Devance at this point as he vows to play in Friday's crucial fourth game of their best-of-five semifinal series with Magnolia at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Devance had eight points, four rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes, his first game back after missing the latter part of the eliminations and the first three games of the playoffs due to a stress fracture on his left foot.
"It's all or nothing now from this point on. I don't care about my foot right now," Devance said after Ginebra's thrilling 107-103 win Wednesday evening at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. "I'm not gonna sit out on this one. I'm definitely gonna play."
Tim Cone's longtime disciple was already in uniform last Monday when Ginebra absorbed a 101-97 loss that put the Kings in a 0-2 hole.
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But concerned over his long-term health, Cone decided it was best for the 11-year veteran to sit out another game, much to Devance's disappointment.
"I actually told coach Tim that I wanted to play last game," he recalled. "But him being concerned about my health, he decided to sit me out last game just to be safe.
"But ever since Game 1, I felt bad sitting out. I told myself, I'm not gonna get myself an excuse, can't sit out right now."
And just like in past battles, Devance was able to provide the intangibles Ginebra needed after trailing 18 in the second quarter, providing several baskets while making nifty assists during a fiery run in the third.
"He's supposed to take another two weeks off but he just said 'I want to play.' Now's the time," Cone said. "Got to give Joe a lot of credit. He just did a lot of little things, made some nice passes, help us handle the ball and play defense on the import. And that's basically what we needed and helped us get over the hump." (JT)
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