AJ Edu and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas tangle with New Zealand next in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers on Sunday, Feb. 23.
AJ Edu could only feel grateful despite the turnout of Gilas Pilipinas' faceoff against Chinese Taipei in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers last Thursday, Feb. 20.
While the Nationals got buried in double-digit deficits multiple times, they tried to turn the tables on their foe until the end, with Justin Brownlee leading the charge.
This was a positive takeaway for Edu, despite Gilas still succumbing, 84-91.
"At the end of the day, I'm still grateful. I feel we did put up a good fight in the end despite being down and everything going against us," said Edu.
[RELATED STORY: Dwight Ramos on Gilas Pilipinas' latest string of losses: 'It's good that we got humbled']
Gilas went down by as much as 13 points early in the second quarter, and saw itself trailing by 12 points, 59-71, in the fourth until Brownlee took charge.
The naturalized Filipino accounted for 12 points in Gilas' 16-6 counter in the period that allowed the squad to threaten at 75-77 with 5:59 left to play.
Newsome and Edu helped keep the Nationals within striking distance, with Edu's jumper keeping them just two points behind, 84-86, heading into the final two minutes of the match.
But Chun Hsiang Lu hit the Taiwanese's 15th three-pointer of the game and naturalized Brandon Gilbeck imposed his presence with a block on Dwight Ramos before securing the offensive rebound on Cheng Liu's missed trey then going for a dunk to seal the win — a vengeance of sorts for the squad after suffering a humiliating 53-point beatdown, 106-53, from Gilas last year.
But as coach Tim Cone said, the Filipino dribblers have no choice but to move on, with fellow qualified team New Zealand now the next one standing in their way.
[RELATED STORY: Tim Cone takes responsibility for Gilas loss to Chinese Taipei: 'That's on me']
Edu hopes that Gilas can wrap up Window 3 with a win, which would bode well for the team as they look forward to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Saudi Arabia in August.
"Hopefully, we could still end on a high note as we play New Zealand and try to get that victory," said Edu.
Gilas Pilipinas would try to replicate their historic first triumph in the second window over the Tall Blacks last November when they meet again on Sunday, Feb. 23.
Match is at 10 a.m.
(With reports from Nic Earnshaw, Cignal TV)