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Karl-Anthony Towns heaps praises on Gilas center AJ Edu, Filipino fans

Sports | Basketball

Karl-Anthony Towns heaps praises on Gilas center AJ Edu, Filipino fans

By Manila Bulletin Sports

At A Glance

Karl Anthony-Towns obviously brought his A-game and put on a massive effort to silence the boisterous crowd and tow the Dominican Republic past the host Gilas Pilipinas, 87-81, in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 at the Philippine Arena on Friday, Aug. 25.

By MARK REY MONTEJO

BOCAUE – Karl Anthony-Towns obviously brought his A-game and put up a massive effort to silence the boisterous crowd and tow the Dominican Republic past the host Gilas Pilipinas, 87-81, in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 at the Philippine Arena on Friday, Aug. 25.

Karl-Anthony Towns comes away with big numbers for the Dominican Republic. (Noel Pabalate)

Towns, who went to a toe-to-toe battle against the Gilas bigs and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, was left impressed by AJ Edu's defense throughout the close encounter.

“I think he’s a fantastic player, [I] love the competition he brought tonight. He makes me better,” Towns said.

“Filipinos are [have] a culture that doesn't give up and they play hard, that’s I expect, nothing but a hardworking people” he added.

He also offered some sweet words for the Filipino crowd.

“It’s amazing, I've never been here, I've been dying to come here. The fans are nothing but amazing to us, the people are amazing.

“[I’m] very proud to be a Dominican here with the win, but also being very proud to meet [my] old fans, great fans here in the Philippines and being able to tell them “Salamat” [and] “Mabuhay”.

In a losing effort, Jordan Clarkson topscored for Gilas with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while center June Mar Fajardo added 16 points. Edu chipped in seven points and five rebounds.

Related Tags

2023 FIBA World Cup

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