Quite a splash in Jeddah for Edu

MANILA, Philippines — AJ Edu is having a ball in his FIBA Asia Cup debut in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In the absence of Kai Sotto, the 6-foot-10 Edu has taken primary big man chores and posted team high averages of 8.3 rebounds and two shot blocks for the Nationals in group play.

Edu’s blocking norm even put him at No. 2 overall in the continental meet, next only to Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Alsuwailem who averaged three.

He had a single-game high of 12 boards, posted in Gilas’ 87-95 loss to Chinese-Taipei, en route to emerging the sixth-best rebounder in the competition.

Scoring-wise, Edu was good for 5.7 points per session for coach Tim Cone, backing up Justin Brownlee’s 21.3 and Dwight Ramos’ 18.7.

The 25-year-old slotman had nine markers, seven boards, two steals and two blocks in helping the Filipinos to the vital 66-57 win over Iraq that kept their quarterfinal hopes alive after a 0-2 start.

That match was extra special for Edu as his UK-based father Ayotunde and mother Josie were at the King Abdullah City Sports City to personally cheer for him for the first time as a Gilas mainstay.

“It’s really nice to have my parents in the crowd. It really motivated me,” the Cypriot-born center said on One Sports. “They’re the reason I made it this far out and I’m proud to represent my mom’s country in front of Filipinos. It’s a blessing.”

Like Edu, naturalized player Brownlee is making his mark in his maiden Asia Cup stint, too.

Browlee rifled in the tournament highest score of 37 in Gilas’ 86-94 loss to New Zealand and overall, he ranked fourth in points average behind Qatar’s Brandon Goodwin (25.3), Saudi’s Muhammad Ali-Abdul Rahkman (23.7) and Syria’s Keron Deshields (22.0).

Ramos, for his part, joined Brownlee in the Top 10 of scorers at No. 8 as his team-high 1.7 steals put him in a share of 10th tournament-wide.

Though not scoring much (6 points per game), Scottie Thompson is doing playmaking and hustle activities for Gilas, accounting for 5.3 assists — a team best and No. 7 overall — while collaring 6.0 rebounds.