As if playing for the country wasn’t enough motivation, AJ Edu had the biggest reasons to play his heart out watching from the stands in Gilas Pilipinas’ only win that kept the Filipinos in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup fight.

Ranged against some of the finest big men in the region, the 6-foot-11 Edu surely got help from his teammates, but none bigger than the boost he got from his parents, who made the trip to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to watch their boy in action.

“It was really nice to have my parents in the crowd,” said the beaming center after a 66-57 Group D victory over Iraq that put Gilas in the qualifying round for the quarterfinals.

“I mean, they definitely motivated me. They’re the reasons I’ve made it this far. I’m just proud to represent my mom’s country in front of her.”

Bouncing back

After going scoreless against New Zealand on Thursday, Edu seemingly switched to a whole other gear against the Iraqis in the most fitting time possible.

Thanks to the energy that his family brought, the Japanese B.League Filipino-import helped the Philippines to the victory with nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

There was also the added motivation of Edu simply refusing to go home ahead of schedule.

Losing a third straight game certainly lit a fire under the gritty center.

“We’ve been on a bit of a losing streak, so it’s nice to just change that,” he said. “I think this was a nice one because it was a real team effort.”

Edu has been trying his best to fill the void that the injured Kai Sotto left.

After three group games, Edu is averaging 5.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and two blocks per game, numbers that need improvement moving forward with the Filipinos likely to play Australia in the quarterfinals—if the gritty Nationals do get there at all.

He would need to up those numbers as early as the midnight of Tuesday, when Gilas fights for that prospective match with the Aussies in a KO duel with Group C’s second-best team and host, Saudi Arabia. INQ