The Pros and Cons of Keeping Joe Devance

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

Free agent Devance says he is staying with Barangay Ginebra

In the NBA, we have Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan, Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan, among others. These are the best coach-player tandems that were virtually successful throughout their stint together. Duncan, for one, has stuck with his coach through thick and thin in a relationship that lasted for almost two decades which produced 5 championships for the San Antonio Spurs. In the PBA, we have that rare combination of a coach and a player who could win together. Among those pairs is Tim Cone and Joe Devance.

The two won multiple championships together with the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers including Tim Cone’s second grand slam and now, to Governors’ Cup championships with the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. In fact, Tim Cone has said it in numerous times that Joe Devance has been one of the best players he has coached in his decorated coaching career owing to  the fact that Devance’s height plus his ability to play all 5 positions gives Tim Cone the flexibility to put Devance in any given position depending on the need and the situation.

However, their relationship is currently facing a threat as Joe Devance was surprisingly tagged as a free agent by the Gin Kings. The good news is, Joe Devance has already said that he’s sticking with the crowd darlings despite looming interest from Coach Louie Alas of the Phoenix Fuel Masters who said that signing Joe Devance will be a long shot.

Question: assuming that Ginebra decides to re-sign Joe Devance anew, what are the pros and cons of doing so?

Pros: Versatility and Flexibility

As mentioned above, Joe Devance is one of the few guys in the PBA who can play any position with ease. He can do almost everything for the Gin Kings. He can defend well because of his height and wingspan. He can be a point guard who can also shoot long-distance bombs. He’s almost a complete package for Tim Cone. No wonder why Tim Cone loves this guy. 

Cons: Fewer Minutes for New Guys. And fewer Opportunities

While keeping JDV will enable the Gin Kings to have a reliable scorer off the bench, his roster spot and playing minutes will be eaten and these are the things that can be given to the new guys like Jett Manuel or give more minutes for Jervy Cruz.

Additionally, imagine the possibilities if JDV is to be traded for younger players? Who knows? The core of the Gin Kings are not getting younger so they will have to start looking into the long run and start looking for new players who can take over once the veterans call it a career. But then again, JDV is still JDV. 

Conclusion

While it’s already possible that Ginerba will keep JDV, for now, it’s also unlikely that he will finish the season or his career with Ginebra. But then again, who would want to break a winning tandem like Tim Cone and Joe Devance? 

Ginebra Rookies with a break-out game against Mahindra.

Photo by PBA Media Bureau

With the depth of the Ginebra rotation, it is expected that the new guys to rarely get minutes especially the rookies but as for their game against the Mahindra Floodbuster, the league’s most winningest coach gave these new comers a chance to gain confidence during the late part of the pay off period with a huge lead of as much as 22 points by sharing with them the hardcourt on their way to a win.

Kevin Ferrer, who was instructed by the coaching staff to play a big role in the defensive end usually makes his shots beyond the arc based on his UAAP stint. On this game against Mahindra, he’s able to convert those outside attempts and finally gets his rhythm going.  Ferrer scored 12 points with 3 rebounds, 1 assist and a block who also went turnover-less after a twenty minute exposure mostly in the last part of the fourth quarter.

Former practice player and now a Barangay Ginebra rookie , Jericho De Guzman finally got his feet on a live game inside the PBA court. This 6 foot 11 center’s name was called by Tim Cone during the last minutes of the game and luckily got an opportunity to get his first ever pro points. While Jammer Jamito who was called to play during the fourth quarter also showed his hustle and shooting skills as he scored a couple of shots from mid range in the PBA.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel equalizes record to 2 and 2, gives Mahindra their fifth loss

Photo by PBA Media Bureau

After struggling in a couple of games to start their conference, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel shakes off championship hangover as they give Mahindra another painful loss, handing the floodbuster their 5th loss in the conference with 0-5 record.

Barangay Ginebra struggled to execute their offense during the first half but still managed to stay close in the game. Mahindra played with a bit of a one man per play execution with less than 10 assists to end their game which eventually translated to another loss.

Japeth Aguilar dominated the offense inside the paint and the boards while Scottie Thompson also contributed in three departments.

LA Revilla had an off night against Ginebra after scoring below average that cause them the defeat.

The scores:

GINEBRA 89 – Aguilar 15, Ellis 12, Ferrer 12, Mariano 9, Taha 8, Thompson 6, Devance 6, Mercado 6, Tenorio 5, Jamito 4, Marcelo 4, De Guzman 2, Cruz 0, Caguioa 0.

MAHINDRA 70 – Yee 15, Salva 11, Celda 9, Escoto 6, Mallari 6, Elorde 5, Eriobu 4, Teng 4, Arana 3, Revilla 3, Apinan 2, Paniamogan 2, Ballesteros 0, Digregorio 0, Webb 0.

Quarterscores: 14-13, 32-27, 55-47, 89-70

Meralco gets fourth win against sister team TNT Katropa

Photo Courtesy of PBA Media Bureau

After a disappointing loss in the Governors’ Cup Championship against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Meralco is out to prove their strength in the season opener conference as they get their fourth win against their sister franchise team TNT Katropa with the help of their rookie Ed Daquioag.

Daquioag led the Bolts against TNT after listing a total of 23 points as a result of his excellent shooting in this showdown with 4 boards and 2 steals to complete his excellent night as the game’s best player.

Chris Newsome who almost listed a triple double performance also helped out in anchoring a win against the last season’s top seed with 11 points, 10 boards and 8 assists. Meralco Bolts dominated the game ending the game with 11 points to get the win against the newly activated head coach of TNT, Nash Racela.

The scores:

MERALCO 98 – Daquioag 23, Al-Hussaini 14, Hugnatan 11, Newsome 11, Nabong 10, Amer 9, Hodge 9, Caram 6, Yeo 4, Grey 1, Faundo 0, Chua 0.

TNT 87 – Castro 23, Williams 19, De Ocampo 9, Pogoy 9, reyes 9, Tautuaa 6, Rosser 5, Rosario 4, Fonacier 3, Carey 0, Rosales 0.

Quarterscores: 26-23, 45-45, 75-69, 98-87
Best Player : Ed Daquioag with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals

JC Intal leads Phoenix into a strong finish against San Miguel Beermen



Courtesy of PBA Media Bureau

JC Intal led the Phoenix Fuel Masters into another win as they surpass the league giant San Miguel Beermen.

San Miguel Beermen struggled in converting their charities as they only averaged 55% making only 12 of their 22 attempts. On the three point category where Phoenix did an awesome job where they averaged 40% led by JC Intal who made 5 three point shots out of his 9 attempts along side Simon Enciso who scored 15 points  all coming from beyond the arc.

The Phoenix Fuel Masters has bee on the driver’s seat through out the game as the Beermen played catch the entire four quarters of this second game in a Wednesday Philippine cup showdown.

The Fuel Masters’ rookie Matthew Wright had an excellent performance night contributing 14 points with an impressive 75% freethrow shooting average to end the game together with fellow rookie Gelo Alolino who listed 13 points who was perfect from the free throw line with 50% conversion from beyond the arc.

Junmar Fajardo tried to salvage the win for the beermen and was the highest scorer of the game with 19 points after dominating the paint but fell shortly with lack of points contribution from his fellow beermen having Alex Cabagnot only converting 1 three pointer out of his 4 attempts which is unusal for this shooting guard.

Final : 92-85 in favor of the Phoenix Fuel Masters

The scores:  

Phoenix 92 – Intal 22, Enciso 15, Wright 14, Alolino 13, Caperal 10, W. Wilson 6, Lanete 4, Torres 4, Baguio 2, Hayes 2, J. Wilson 0, Borboran 0.

San Miguel 85 – Fajardo 19, Cabagnot 16, Espinas 12, Lassiter 12, Santos 10, Garcia 9, Ross 4, Reyes 3, Agovida 0, Semerad 0, Tubid 0.

Quarters: 26-15, 49-35, 77-63, 92-85
Best players of the game:  Simon Enciso (15 points and 9 assists) and Matthew Wright (14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists)!

Rain or Shine with a blowout debut win against Mahindra in a Wednesday showdown.

Courtesy of PBA Media Bureau

After a lot of changes in team line ups for both squads, Rain or Shine proved the league that they made the right shuffle of players.

Mahindra Floodbuster trailed with as much as 30 points in the game though gaining some momentum in trying to get back and try to inch in to close the gap with the help of Alex Mallari but Rain or Shine made sure that the take the W home.

Jericho Cruz exploded with 15 points which led them into this debut win together with the new Rain or Shine Star, James Yap who recorded 10 points along side Chris Tiu with 11 points.

Escoto, Paniamogan and Mallari were the among the players who were in double figures with 10 points a piece. Mahindra was not able to grabe the lead since the tip off but tried to get back and salvage the win.

Rain or Shine recorded an impressive 45% beyond the 3 point range making 18 out 40 attempts beyond the arc with 68 free throw percentage making 15 out of 22 charities. Jericho Cruz dominated the 3 point are getting 57.14% conversion (4 out of 7)

While Mahindra struggled converting their long range shots with only 17 percent conversion beyond the arc making only 5 of their 29 three point attempts with 42 percent made field goals. Mahindra did a good job in making shots from the foul line with 74 percent conversion but fell shortly with only 3 players listed with double figures.

Final : 105-83 in favor of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

The scores:

Rain or Shine 105 – Cruz 15, Ahanmisi 14, Tiu 11, Yap 10, Belga 8, Tolomia 8, Chan 7, Almazan 6, Norwood 6, Maiquez 5, Washington 5, Trollano 4, Ibanes 3, Ponferada 3, Matias 0.

Mahindra 83 – Escoto 10, Mallari 10, Paniamogan 10, Guevarra 9, Eriobu 8, Arana 7, Yee 6, Celda 5, Nimes 4, Revila 4, Apinan 3, Deutchman 3, Salva 3, David 1, Ballesteros 0.

Quarterscores: 26-16, 61-32, 92-48, 105-83
Best Player : Jericho Cruz with 15 points, 4 assists and 4/7 3PT FGs