Edu to join Gilas despite injury

MANILA, Philippines — Newly-reappointed Gilas head coach Tim Cone said yesterday injured Japanese B-League center AJ Edu will join the national team in Hong Kong for the first game of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifying window despite not being able to play.

Edu, 23, suffered a torn meniscus during a B-League game last November and is sidelined for at least three months.  He underwent surgery to repair the tear. Edu will miss the Hong Kong game on Feb. 22 and the Chinese-Taipei outing at the PhilSports Arena on Feb. 25. But the hope is he’ll be ready to suit up for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia on July 2-7.

“AJ will not be available for the first window but he’ll come to Hong Kong with us,” said Cone. He also announced that Gilas will hold its first practice on Feb. 15.  Cone picked 12 players, including Justin Brownlee, for the coming window and plans a one-week camp before leaving for Hong Kong. No tune-up game is scheduled.

The 12 players are Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Jamie Malonzo, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kai Sotto and Kevin Quiambao. Asked if he’ll bring in a replacement for Edu, Cone said, “not initially, I think, not for the first window.”  Cone declined to comment on a possible replacement. “As for Rhenz (Abando) and Mason (Amos), I’m not ready to comment on them or anyone outside the list of 12,” he said. “We’re still working on the ‘what ifs.’”

FIBA has yet to announce a decision on whether or not to suspend Brownlee. “Nothing is written in stone but we’re optimistic Justin will play,” he said. Cone mentioned there’s nothing definite on who will be his assistant coaches except for Richard del Rosario, also the newly-designated Gilas team manager. The speculation is Jong Uichico and Josh Reyes will join the staff. LA Tenorio and Chris Ross were rumored to be candidates.