GILAS Pilipinas winning its final game in the FIBA World Cup finally took care of unfinished business for AJ Edu.
The Philippines' 96-75 rout of China on Saturday night, according to Edu, somehow helped him completely exorcise the ghost of the past the last time he represented the country in a major international tournament.
The 23-year-old big man referred to his debut with the Philippine men’s basketball team as ‘a blessing.’
“Last time I represented Gilas was U-19 (team), and that injury hindered it,” he said.
Then a gangling 19-year-old, the 6-foot-11 Edu was full of promise and along with fellow big man Kai Sotto, formed a tall, intimidating frontcourt for the Batang Gilas team.
Unfortunately, just two minutes into Gilas’ opening game against Greece in the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, he went down with torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee and a hairline fracture on his right femur.
The career-threatening injuries kept him from being picked for a slot in the national team - until this World Cup.
Edu certainly made the most out of the campaign and landed in the Top 10 in the World Cup group phase in rebounding with a team-best 8.6 a game despite being the second youngest Gilas player after Sotto.
He also ranked third in scoring at 8.2 points behind Jordan Clarkson (26.0) and Dwight Ramos (13.2) and shared the lead in the blocked shots department with Rhenz Abando with a 1.2 average.
In the 21-point blowout of China before a wildly-cheering crowd of 11,080 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Edu was again part of the Gilas starting unit and finished with 10 rebounds, five points, and three assists.
“I’ve finally come full circle and me able to represent (the country) at the highest level is such a he blessing,” he said. “And I want to thank the Lord for this opportunity. It’s been amazing.”
In a few days, Edu will be heading to Japan where he’ll start his pro career playing for the Toyoma Grouses in the B.League.
And since he’ll be based in a place that is closer to Manila compared to the UK or the US where he previously stayed, the young big man said he’ll be able to keep in touch more often with the national team.
“Now that I’m down in Asia, I’m looking forward to more stuff with Gilas,” said Edu.
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