Talagang nakakataas sa confidence namin
Bruised, battered, and, even, struggling to even walk, Joe Devance is doing everything he could to lift the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in their best-of-seven semifinals series against the Star Hotshots.
The 34-year-old Filipino-American once again took another dose of anesthetic shot for Game Four of the series, playing eight minutes in the first half before succumbing to the pain once again.
His sacrifice though did not go to waste as Jervy Cruz played inspired basketball Wednesday evening, leading Ginebra to a 93-86 win against Star to tie the series at 2-all.
“Sa practice, hindi nga siya gaanong nakakalaro, masakit talaga pero pinipilit niya. Nakita ko sa kanya yung puso niya na gusto talagang manalo,” the 30-year old said.
“So kami, paano pa kami na nakakapag-contribute? Gusto namin ipakita sa kanya na yung mga pinakita niya, ibabalik namin.”
During the first two games of the series, the native of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija came off the bench, scoring 5.0 points in both outings in 17 minutes of action. Needing to match-up against the frontline of Rafi Reavis and Marc Pingris, coach Tim Cone promoted Cruz to the starting line-up of the team.
And the move paid off in Game Four as the 6-foot-4 big man turned up his aggression, attacking the paint and grabbing fouls. He finished the game with 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting form the field, 11-of-13 from the stripe to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
For him, it was just about seizing the moment and embracing the grind of this series.
“Nabigyan lang ako ng break ni coach Tim. Tapos si Joe, lagi ako sinasabihan na tira mo yan, confidence lang at papasok din yan,” the fourth overall pick in the 2009 Draft added. “Siya nga may injury, pinipilit pa niya. Talagang nakakataas sa confidence namin.
“Nasanay na din ako dati sa pisikil yung laro namin. Tapos haluan mo pa ng nabibigyan ng break kaya nakakapaglaro ako ng maayos.”
Even if he is 2-of-2 when he starts, Cruz vows to not rest on his laurels, saying that he will still match or even one up the intensity of Star come Game Five.
“Hindi kami nagkukumpiyansa na maglaro lang. Lagi namin gusto matumbasan o mahigitan pa yung effort na binibigay ng kalaban.”
