Filipino big man AJ Edu swats another three shots in Nagasaki Velca’s big win over the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins in B1 action.
AJ Edu pulled off another block party as the Nagasaki Velca trumped the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, 87-68, at the Happiness Arena in the 2024-25 B.LEAGUE season on Saturday, November 2.
Edu, the league leader in blocks entering this week, clamped down on defense with three blocks to his name along with six points, seven rebounds, and one steal.
The Velca started out strong as they built the double-digit lead, 30-18, at the end of the opening canto.
Four different players finished in double-digit scoring led by Jarrell Brantley’s 25 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists. Yudai Baba chipped in with 19 markers of his own for Nagasaki.
But Edu’s performance not only helped his team to the win and improve to 6-4, he also increased his lead as the B.LEAGUE's best shot blocker.
[RELATED: AJ Edu, Kai Sotto lead B.LEAGUE in blocks]
Edu padded his average to 1.8 blocks per game after this Saturday’s outing, which puts him 0.4 blocks ahead of Kawasaki’s Sacha Killeya-Jones and Arturas Gudaitis of Alvark Tokyo, who are tied for second with 1.4 blocks.
Fellow Filipino import Kai Sotto, who plays for the Koshigaya Alphas, fell to joint-third at 1.3 blocks per game.
Edu is the only Filipino leading in stats in the B1 after 10 games. Sotto is third in the list of league leaders in rebounds with 10.3 boards per contest.
Edu and the Velca return to action on Sunday, November 3, where they seek a weekend sweep against the Diamond Dolphins.