MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings got a huge blow in the ongoing 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup with Negrense forward Joe Devance out of commission due to an injury.
Kings head coach Tim Cone said the Escalante City, Negros Occidental native could be out until the playoffs round after sustaining a plantar fasciitis injury on his right foot.
“He has plantar fasciitis problems on his other foot, not the other foot that he’s having a shot all the time,” said Cone. “He would be out for a few weeks and hope that he be ready come the playoffs.”
“He’s doing a good job losing weight. He has lost a lot of weight the last few weeks,” he added. “So that takes off some of the pressure off his foot. So we think if he comes back, he can stay away from it because of the weight he lost.”
With the injury of the 37-year-old Devance, Cone would have to rely on their other forwards in Aljon Mariano, Arthur dela Cruz, Jervy Cruz and Juliant Sargent to fill the gap.
“In the meantime, guys like Jervy and Aljon has to step up. That’s for sure,” said Cone. “We hope it’s only a couple of weeks, could be longer.”
Devance, who has been hobbled with injury the past few years, is also expected to miss the 2019 PBA All Star Games later this month in Pangasinan. The Negrense was part of the South All-Stars team./PN
