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    AJ Edu excited to team up with Kouame at Gilas

    I'm just very excited for 2023, says Edu
    May 30, 2021
    PHOTO: fiba

    AJ Edu has yet to personally meet Ange Kouame but this early, the Fil-Brit center is excited about teaming up with the naturalized big man at Gilas Pilipinas.

    "Having watched a little bit of his Ateneo play in college basketball, it's going to be really exciting for Gilas," he told Radyo5's Power and Play with Noli Eala.

    The two are touted among the new cornerstones of the national team in the run-up to the 2023 Fiba World Cup, which the country is co-hosting.

    Edu, who is currently with the Toledo Rockets in the US NCAA, is one of the bright prospects for Gilas alongside fellow youth team alumnus Kai Sotto.

    Kouame, meanwhile, is set to make his national team debut in the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark this June.

    Having that luxury of a reliable big man isn't lost on Edu.

    "I feel like just the options that we have, we can never have too many options, especially going into a World Cup or a Fiba tournament. So having these options is just going to be really exciting. Me personally, I'm just very excited for 2023," the 21-year-old said.

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      That, however, is still two years ahead as Edu keeps his focus on his third year at the University of Toledo in Ohio.

      "For me, the number one goal is obviously just have a healthy season," said the 6-foot-10 Cyprus-born big man, who suffered a right ACL injury and a meniscus tear the past two years. "I feel like that's something I've obviously missed over the past couple seasons."

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      "For sure, I would like to have a bigger impact than I had in my freshman year. I had a great freshman year and I really enjoyed it, came off the bench and played a good amount of minutes. This year I'm obviously going to have a bigger role, the same sort of role that I was going to have last year before the injury."

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      Edu had a solid freshman year in 2018-19. He averaged only 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds but led the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in blocks with 1.7 blocks in 14.3 minutes.

      He only played two games in his sophomore year in 2020-21 with 1.0 point, 7.0 boards, and 2.0 rejections in 23.5 minutes of play before being sidelined by a knee injury.

      "The goal for me is just to take advantage of that role and have an impact on defense, like what I did in my first year, and more of an impact offensively," he said.

      He also wants to see the Rockets make it to the NCAA Tournament.

      Toledo has only had four tournament appearances, with its last dating back to 1980 where it was knocked out of the first round by Florida State.

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        The Rockets came close last season, finishing at the top of the MAC with its 15-4 conference record and 21-9 overall card, but fell to Ohio in the MAC Tournament semis en route to the Bobcats gaining the NCAA berth.

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        "As a team collectively, our goal is to make the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately the way it works is we did win the regular season last year but you have to win your conference tournament to make it to the NCAA Tournament. And unfortunately, we didn't win the conference tournament," Edu lamented.

        "So the number one goal for us is to make it to the NCAA Tournament and be part of that big dance."

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        PHOTO: fiba
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