AJ Edu will continue playing in the B1 division of the Japan B.League, but this time for the Nagasaki Velca.
AJ Edu is staying put in Japan.
The Nagasaki Velca confirmed their signing Edu for the upcoming 2024-25 B.League season. The team announced the development Tuesday, July 2.
The Gilas Pilipinas big man now joins a new team after spending one season with the Toyama Grouses for his first year as a pro. In Toyama, he averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds in 14 games before suffering a season-ending meniscus injury.
Edu sustained his injury last November 12, 2023 when the Grouses faced the Utsunomiya Brex, the same injury that has forced him out of Gilas Pilipinas duties in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
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The 24-year-old joins a Velca team that aims to remain in B1 for the second straight season. Nagasaki made its B1 debut last season after a stellar one-and-done campaign in the B2 in 2022.
In a previews B.League interview, Edu revealed that his favorite game from his rookie season was his home debut that coincidentally happened against Nagasaki, in which he tallied 18 points and eight rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.
"My favorite moment of the season was probably my first game for Toyama in front of the Grouses fans against Nagasaki [Velca]. I think just experiencing the Grouses fans was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it," Edu said in an interview release on the B.League social media pages.
[ALSO READ: Free agent AJ Edu speaks on first year in B.League, focuses on getting healthy ahead of Gilas' OQT campaign]
AJ is now the second Filipino Asian import to play in the squad after Jordan Heading.
Edu alongside Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Yudai Baba, as well as Koya Kawamata who was an ex-teammate of Kiefer Ravena with the Shiga Lakes. Both Baba and Kawamata are mainstays with Akatsuki Japan.
Nagasaki finished with a 27-33 record in its first season in Japan’s top flight league, good for 17th place. Meanwhile, Toyama was relegated to B2 after a dismal 4-56 slate.