AJ Edu relishes playing with Kai Sotto in Fiba World Cup

Gilas Pilipinas’ AJ Edu against Italy in the Fiba World Cup. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Suiting up for Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba World Cup alone is already a big feat for AJ Edu.

Playing with Kai Sotto again after five years—on international basketball’s biggest stage—made it more special for Edu.

“I love playing with Kai. He’s a player that makes everyone better. He’s pass-first almost to a fault so I love playing with him,” Edu said on Tuesday after Gilas’ 90-83 loss to Italy in the group phase of the Fiba World Cup at Araneta Coliseum.

“I played with him since junior level and I enjoy the fact that we’re still playing at a higher level.”

Gilas Pilipinas’ Kai Sotto against Italy in the Fiba World Cup. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Edu and Sotto also teamed up for the Philippines five years ago in the Fiba U-18 Asian Championship where they led Batang Gilas to a fourth-place finish.

The two were on the floor at the same time for Gilas against Italy after sharing minutes in the first two games of the tournament.

Edu, one of the few bright spots for Gilas in its winless campaign so far, finished with eight points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes against the world No. 10 Italians.

Sotto, meanwhile, had two points and three rebounds in seven minutes of action.