Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Joe Devance underwent surgery yesterday to repair an injured left foot that has bothered him for most of last season’s campaign that ended with a PBA Governors’ Cup championship.
Devance said recent that a doctor was slated to come over from the United States to perform the procedure on the foot that sustained a plantar fasciitis in the Philippine Cup and a bunion problem since, forcing the 11-year veteran to play in pain.
“It’s long overdue,” said Devance, who was scheduled to go under the knife before the Governors’ Cup but he and Ginebra management decided to forego the plan with the next PBA season set to begin December.
“I’ve needed this surgery bad for over a year already. It kept on getting worse and worse and finally I just need to get it and there’s no way around it and I got to get it done,” he added.
Despite the injury, Devance played as if he was healthy as he helped Ginebra reach at the least the semifinals of all three conferences last season, capping off with the Governors’ Cup title over Meralco in seven games.
