By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas big man AJ Edu seemed to be finally getting more accustomed to the new system of the national team under head coach Tim Cone.
Edu proved to be a force to be reckoned with after finishing with 15 points, three rebounds, a steal and a block in Gilas 103-98 victory over the Macau Black Bears on Monday, July 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tasked to fill in the gaping hole left by the absence of Kai Sotto, Edu looked a little bit more comfortable finding his spot in Cone’s triangle offense while also providing the energy on both ends of the floor.
“It feels great. It feels great to be at home as well. Such a blessing to play in front of you guys and you bring so much energy,” said Edu, who finally had a two weeks worth of practice with Gilas after missing all of last year’s games of the national team.
He rejoined the national team in the final window of the Asia Cup qualifiers but Edu barely had practice time with the team before playing against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
Having joined the Gilas buildup two weeks ago including a short training camp in Pampanga, Edu looked a lot better with the team now – something that Cone also noticed.
“It was really important for AJ to be here. AJ was awesome tonight, you have to admit. And that was just being able to have him for two weeks,” Cone pointed out.
“I think the last trip we took, we only had him for two days. And then we arrived in Doha and played games. And then we went to Taiwan, had one practice. And then we went to New Zealand, had one practice .So in effect, we only had like four practices, the whole last trip we had,” Cone recalled.
How well Edu will play against the towering frontlines of other teams in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup would be crucial especially without Sotto and June Mar Fajardo expected to play through a calf injury.
Admittedly still adjusting to the bigger role, Edu is confident that the rest of the team will also have his back in the continental tiff.
“It is still an adjustment. Kai is such an important piece especially to the way we are playing the triangle but we have to make do without him for now,” said Edu.
“Everyone has to step up. Today you saw how many people stepped up and we just go to keep that going,” he added.
