Alaska head coach Alex Compton considers it as a ‘good problem’ once he reaches a point when he needs to choose between current reinforcement Shane Edwards and injured import Rob Dozier in the ongoing Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Edwards, a onetime Cleveland Cavalier, scored 36 points and pulled down 20 rebounds in Alaska’s 108-100 win against defending champion Tropang TNT last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I really hope Shane gives me a hard time. I hope he gives me a problem,” said Compton. “We love Rob… we signed Rob.
I hope we win every game with Shane, then let me deal with that problem.”
“Shane came here because of Rob’s injury. Rob was awesome in practice when he got injured,” added Compton.
Dozier, who has been with the team for nearly a month or since during the Philippine Cup finals series, has plantar fasciitis on his left foot he sustained during practice last week.
The injury forced Dozier to miss Alaska’s first game this conference where they lost to Blackwater, 101-107 last February 19.
With the former Best Import Dozier recovering from the injury, the Aces had no other choice but to sign a temporary import in Edwards, who played briefly for the Cavs in 2014.
Edwards, 28, said he understands his situation before he decided to accept the chance to play for Alaska.
Edwards adds the only thing that concerns him is to win games for Alaska, which plays Rain or Shine tomorrow at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
“As of right now, I’m just here to do my job. I hope Rob gets a speedy recovery,” Edwards said. “When I’m here, I’ll just try to do everything I can to help the club win games.”
Alaska became the second team to replace an import after Rain or Shine tabbed Antoine Wright to replace Wayne Chism (left hamstring).
The Tropa also paraded a new import as David Simon who replaced Ivan Johnson, who was recently banished for the rest of the season and fined P150,000 by PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa following his outburst two weeks ago.
Meantime, Globalport has decided to replace the ineffective Brian Williams by tapping former import Calvin Warner.