Joe Devance returned to the Philippines not expecting any chance for a closure after he silently walked away from the game two years ago.

Devance had officially come out of retirement, making his PBA comeback on Thursday, Sept. 26, with Barangay Ginebra in its 99-92 Game 1 victory over Meralco in their quarterfinals affair.

The 42-year-old veteran was just grateful for the opportunity to be able to play again in the PBA although he admitted it was far from his plans when he visited the country for some business matters.

“I came out here for business. I came out here just to take care of some things and I went to say hi to Ginebra and soon as I got there, the coaches were like, 'Can you play?' I was like, 'Oh shoot. I mean, I don't know.' And here I am,” said Devance.

“God works in mysterious ways, I feel like I didn't get the closure I wanted, even though I didn't come here for basketball, and this is Coach Tim and Boss Al and RSA blessed me with the opportunity to have some closure and some unfinished business,” he added.

Devance played for six minutes and finished with two points. He admitted that he was still far from his best shape but he vowed to continue work on it.

“My legs are a little heavy, this is the first game I have had in two and a half years, but it feels good, it feels great to be out there,” said the 12-time PBA champion.

“I didn't know how I was gonna play. To be honest, I'm not in the best of shape. I might look a little bit thinner than I was last time but I just train my kids. I train my basketball program in LA but I'm telling my teammates to just give me more time. I'm doing everything I can to just try and support them and make their job easier,” he added.

After trading away Christian Standhardinger in the offseason and supposed replacement Isaac Go going down with a knee injury, the Kings are suddenly in need of a big man who could get spot minutes just for Japeth Aguilar to take a breather – something that Devance certainly can provide.

Devance is unsure just how long his comeback would play out but shared that he was just trying to savor and enjoy every moment of it.

“I wasn't even supposed to be out here playing basketball. I'm just taking it day-by-day. I haven't even thought about anything else, just trying to get through each day,” said Devance.

“This is all a surreal moment. And it feels good. One of the things I told the guys was your career could end just like that. Don't take any of this granted. The hard times, the good times, just being together, it's a blessing,” he added.