Gilas head coach Tim Cone sees AJ Edu playing a crucial role in their 2025 FIBA Asia Cup campaign in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia starting next week.

And having him join the team’s preparation for a longer period was a huge advantage.

Edu held the fort in the absence of center June Mar Fajardo during the Filipinos send-off match against the Macau Black Bears last Monday.

The 6-foot-10 Filipino-Cypriot finished with 15 points and also submitted three rebounds, two assists and a steal in more than 24 minutes of action in Gilas’ 103-98 win over Macau.

Edu hooked up with the team early to join its two-week build up.

“It’s really important for AJ to be here. AJ was awesome, I have to admit, and that was just being able to have him for two weeks,” Cone said.

The decorated mentor had the luxury to fully integrate Edu into his system compared to the third window of the continental tournament’s qualifiers last February.

Edu only had a short prep time in that final leg where Gilas lost to Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand on the road. The Filipinos also played in a pocket tournament in Doha before flying into the home turfs of the teams.

“I think the last trip we took, we only had him for two days. And then we arrived in Doha and played games. Then we head to Taiwan and have one practice, then we head to New Zealand and have another practice. So, in effect, we only had four practices the whole last trip we had,” Cone added.

“So, getting a (longer) practice time is crucial.”

Edu is the perfect complement for Fajardo, who will join team practice once Gilas arrives in Doha today. Gilas flew to the Middle Eastern nation Wednesday night.

Gilas will rely on the twin towers in the team’s rematch against the Taiwanese on 6 August, the Tall Blacks on the 8th and Iraq on the 10th.