PBA: Ginebra's Tim Cone wants to be cautious with ailing Joe Devance | ABS-CBN

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PBA: Ginebra's Tim Cone wants to be cautious with ailing Joe Devance

PBA: Ginebra's Tim Cone wants to be cautious with ailing Joe Devance

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

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Joe Devance (38) won't hesitate resorting to painkillers to be able to play, but Ginebra coach Tim Cone is concerned for his player's long-term health. Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports

MANILA, Philippines — It remains to be seen whether veteran forward Joe Devance will see action or not for Barangay Ginebra when it battles San Miguel in Game 1 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals at Mall of Asia Arena on Friday.

The versatile Devance, a seven-time PBA champion, played through pain in the semifinals series against Star, taking shots to help him deal with the plantar fascia in his left foot.

Devance's willingness to sacrifice has drawn praise from head coach Tim Cone and inspired his teammates, especially in their back-to-back, do-or-die games against the Hotshots.

During Wednesday's pre-finals press conference at Sambokojin at Eastwood City, however, the multi-titled coach expressed fear that the shots might cause Devance long-term damage.

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"If (Devance) plays, he still has to continue to take shots to numb his foot, and I'm kind of not getting OK with that anymore," Cone said.

"I think we've done that enough. I'm worried about it, and it bothers my conscience that he's doing that to his foot."

Cone said he might wind up resting Devance "for a couple of games," but nothing is set in stone for now.

"We might have to make the decision for him, whether to allow him to do it or not, but that is still up in the air," he said. "But I expect him to play at some point in the series."

Devance did not attend the press conference, as Cone wanted him to rest his foot some more. The forward spent the entire second half of Game 7 pacing behind the Ginebra bench, and he later revealed that he needed to "keep active" and stay mobile. Otherwise, the pain would flare up again.

"I was pacing up and down, right?" he said after the game. "It looked like I was crazy, but it would have been painful if I sat down."

Devance has no issue taking painkillers if that's what it takes to win the championship. On Tuesday night, he said he will discuss his status for the finals with Cone, though he senses he'll be forced to sit out at least two games.

"He told me he was going to do that, but I'm hoping not to," he said. "But I trust coach Tim. We'll see."

"I'm hoping that in the next two days, I'd feel good, and we'll see what happens on Friday."

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)

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