New Gin King Devance says leaving Star was bitter sweet

MANILA, Philippines -- Fil-Am forward Joe Devance admitted that leaving the Star Hotshots for Barangay Ginebra left a bitter-sweet feeling deep inside.

For one, the 6-foot-7 Devance felt very much at home already with Star, a team he helped win five PBA championships in the last four years, including the Purefoods franchise’s very first grand slam finish in the 2014 season.

“I didn’t think that trade of me going to Ginebra would happen. But it’s a bitter sweet feeling right now,” Devance confided to Philstar.com on Monday, just a few hours after becoming part of a four-team, six-player trade that sent him to Barangay Ginebra that reunited him with his former Star coach Tim Cone.

“You know I’m sad and I’m happy.  I love those (Hotshots) guys to death because we’ve been to so much together,” he added.

The 33-year-old left-handed Devance said he formally said goodbye to his teammates at Star on Monday in practice after being notified by management of the trade.

“I said goodbye today (Monday). It was a sad day for me. It is sad to say goodbye but then, just being with coach Tim (Cone at Ginebra) and stuff like that, it’s almost like a comforting feeling because it’s not like any other trade where a player getting traded to another team and a player doesn’t know how it’s gonna be,” explained the former standout from University of Texas, El Paso.

With his move to Ginebra, Devance said he isn’t all too concerned about the high expectations of contributing immediately to the team’s title drive.

However, what he can guarantee is helping out Cone and Ginebra veteran playmaker LA Tenorio in teaching the triangle offense to the rest of the Gin Kings led by Mark Caguioa.

“I guess that’s the only upside because I’m already familiar with the coach and the system,” he said.

“And that’s all I’ll try to be because even with Purefoods, I tried to help whatever i can and try to do, and right now, that would be my role, to help the guys and play my part and do what I got to do to win,” added Devance, who also took the time to thank the Star management and the Hotshots fans for supporting him during his stay with the franchise.

Devance said he’s well aware that die-hard Ginebra fans have long expressed their desire to see their favorite team end their long title drought that dates back to the 2008 season.

But given the complicated system Cone has introduced to Ginebra just a month ago, Devance said the immediate goal is to simply get better and be able to master the basics of the ‘triangle’.

“I don’t think our goal right now is to win the championship,” he said.

“That’s never really coach Tim’s goal but the important thing is to meet the day-to-day process of getting better,” added the 2008 top overall pick in the PBA Draft.

“That’s what coach Tim has really taught me because the bigger picture for us is getting better everyday and that’s the hard thing to do.”

Devance, who is entering his ninth season as a pro, averaged 10.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 45 games for Star this past season.