Alaska’s new import Shane Edwards. PBA IMAGES
Shane Edwards made quite a first impression after powering Alaska past TNT, 108-100, for its first win in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 28-year-old Edwards, who replaced the injured Rob Dozier, had 36 points and 20 rebounds in his PBA debut for the Aces, who improved to 1-1.
“It’s much better when you have an import and he plays well. I’m really happy with the effort,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton. “We really had a tough conference. This year wasn’t easy either, still isn’t easy.”
The Aces rallied after trailing as much as 12, 61-49, in the third quarter. JVee Casio nailed a go-ahead triple, 81-78, with 10:05 left and Alaska never trailed again.
TNT’s new import David Simon was no slouch either. Simon, who filled in for the suspended Ivan Johnson, got 35 points and 19 rebounds.
A basket by Simon trimmed Alaska’s lead to three before the Aces answered with Calvin Abueva setting up Vic Manuel for a gimme to seal the game, 104-99, with 46.4 ticks to go.
Ryan Reyes stepped on the sidelines and Ranidel de Ocampo misfired on two triples inside the final 40 seconds as TNT continued its struggles with a 1-3 record.