Joe Devance was reactivated by Brgy. Ginebra in time for its PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal showdown against playoff rival Meralco.
Joe Devance’s triumphant return has given Ginebra a shot in the arm in time for its best-of-five PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal battle against rival Meralco.
In his first game back since retiring in June 2022, Devance provided quality minutes for the Gin Kings in its 99-92 win over the Bolts in Game 1 Thursday night, Sept. 27.
Asked if he would play beyond the ongoing conference, Devance was non-committal.
“Again, I wasn’t even supposed to be out here playing basketball. Just taking it day by day,” said Devance, who finished with two points in the six minutes and 19 seconds he relieved Japeth Aguilar.
“I haven’t even thought about anything else. Just trying to get through each day. My legs are sore," added the amiable forward.
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The 42-year-old cager said he was only asked if he could play when he dropped by Ginebra’s team’s practice to say hi to his former teammates and coaches.
“Well, to be honest, I came out here for business. I came out here just to take care of some things, and I went to say hi to Ginebra. As soon as I got there, the coaches were like, 'Can you play?' I was like 'Oh, sh—.' I mean, I don’t know,” he said.
“But here I am. God works in mysterious ways. I feel like I didn’t get the closure I wanted even though I didn’t come here for basketball.”
And since his Ginebra comeback was unplanned, Devance made sure to express his apologies, tongue in cheek, to his wife.
His wife was left with their kids back in the United States.
“If you guys can please, everybody here that’s watching this, please give my wife a big hug because she is very, very mad. Sweetie, if you’re watching this, I want to say sorry. And I love you so much,” Devance said, flashing his trademark smile.
“Kids, I love you so much. Please forgive dad. They’re mad at me, guys. So I just want to let the fans know, please give them my love.”
But the father-of-four has to deal with his loved ones later.
For now, the southpaw player is focused on helping the Gin Kings mitigate the loss of injured players Isaac Go, Jamie Malonzo and Jeremiah Gray.
“The biggest thing on my mind was I didn’t want to let anybody down. I didn’t want to let the coaches down for just having that faith, for bringing me up out of nowhere playing the playoffs. I didn’t want to let the fans down and, thankfully, we got the win,” Devance said.