AJ Edu selected to represent Phillipines in FIBA 3X3 Under-18 World Cup

Monday, June 26th 2017

SGS College and Bristol Flyers Academy student AJ Edu has been selected to represent the Philippines in the FIBA 3X3 Under-18 World Cup.

The five-day tournament is the leading 3X3 event for U18 national teams and begins in Chengdu, China on Wednesday, June 28th.

The half-court basketball format, recently commissioned by the IOC to take place at Tokyo 2020, is played using the official FIBA 3v3 game ball, a new basketball designed and engineered to respond to the speed of the game.

"I'm very excited at the opportunity to represent my country,” Edu told bristolflyers.co.uk.

"I'm particularly looking forward to the opportunity of testing myself against some of the best players in my age group from different nations.

"3X3 basketball requires you to be able to play on the perimeter as well as in the post, so I believe it will develop a lot of areas in my game, especially ball handling and shooting ability.

"Being coached by Coach Kapoulas and Coach Coles at SGS College this season has really helped me prepare for this step up to the next level. Their international experience has really helped my understanding of the game as well the guidance I need to achieve what I want to achieve in basketball.

"I feel I've improved more than ever in my first season in the basketball academy at SGS College, and I'm really thankful for that."

AJ Edu

The FIBA 3X3 Under-18 World Cup sees teams divided into four pools of five and seeded automatically based on the 3X3 federation ranking. Edu and the Philippines have been drawn in Pool A and will compete against the Netherlands, Poland, Turkmenistan and Israel.

Each team plays the other four in their respective pools. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the last 16 and then play knock-out games all the way to the final.

"AJ had a great first year with the SGS academy programme,” said Bristol Flyers head coach Andreas Kapoulas.

"He is a very disciplined driven hard working young man and it's great to see that his dedication and commitment has him the opportunity to represent Philippines on the international stage.

"AJ has high aspirations and has made the most of his time with our programme this year. Next season will be a big year for him and his involvement with Philippines this summer at that high level of competition will prove to be very beneficial.

"We wish AJ all the best for the FIBA 3v3 Under-18s World Cup and we hope Philippines go as far as possible in the competition."

Click here for more information on the FIBA 3v3 Under-18 World Cup.