The 6-foot-10 banger is dawning the hardcourt once again following his recovery from an ACL injury suffered in the 2019 Fiba Under-19 World Cup and a meniscus tear last season. 

Aside from its anticipated return, the 21-year-old Fil-Brit center shared he is hoping that he will be part of Gilas’ pool when the right time comes. 

“I definitely do want to play for Gilas in the near future,” the Edu told Radyo5’s Power and Play with Noli Eala on Saturday.

Edu has his thanks also for the full support of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) which has been keeping in touch with him through the course of his recovery.

“They’ve been keeping in contact with me, just checking in making sure I’m doing ok. They’ve also done a good job just making sure I’m handling the situation mentally,” he expressed.

Meanwhile, Edu cleared that it is impossible for him to join the Gilas Pilipinas in its upcoming tournaments due to his recent recovery.

“This coming summer may be a little soon as I’ve just basically recovered from my injury but definitely in the future. The plan is to be a part of Gilas,” he averred.

Though he will not be part of the pool that will see in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark in June, the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade in July, and the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup in Indonesia in August, Edu is happy how the Gilas program turned out—going strong on its collegiate and high school levels selection and building the foundation for the national team from there. 

Edu acknowledges that the Gilas program is mainly preparing for the 2023 Fiba World Cup, one he is raring to be a part of once the time comes. 

“I think it’s being handled very well. I think coach Tab [Baldwin] is doing a great job and the whole management are doing a great job,” he said. 

“They’re we’re thinking about 2023 and thinking about the future. So I understand that you have to build that core of players and I feel like it’s definitely heading in the right direction. These core players will build that chemistry, and these tournaments will help develop that experience of Fiba tournaments as well,” he continued. 

“So I’m hoping I can be a part of that very soon and we’ll see what the future holds.”