Gilas Pilipinas big man AJ Edu is poised for a return from a knee injury in time for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July in Riga, Latvia.

National team head coach Tim Cone said that Edu is not yet back to playing but he is set to continue his rehab process in  London following the conclusion of Toyama Grouses' campaign in the Japan B.League.

“He is not yet back to playing, but he is at the very edge of the ending of his rehab process. He's going from Japan to London and he has a physiotherapist there that he will continue to work with,” Cone said in an interview posted on Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas social pages.

Edu is expected to continue recovering for a couple of weeks but he is poised to get the green light to rejoin the Nationals when they convene for their first practice on June 21 at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna.

Edu’s pending return should be a huge boost for the Nationals, who will be missing the services of injured wingman Jamie Malonzo. The high-flying forward underwent surgery to repair a calf tear he sustained in one of the elimination games of Barangay Ginebra in the PBA.

Cone said it is already tapping Japeth Aguilar to take Malonzo’s place with another young big man in Mason Amos serving as backup traveling with the team.

With Edu, Cone said Gilas will have the versatility to play big and possibly utilize him alongside June Mar Fajardo or Kai Sotto to match up with their opponents. 

On top of that, the multi-titled mentor said Edu is playing a key role on their defensive system, being the lead big man capable of keeping in step with European bigs.

“AJ is a key guy because he is our true big man stopper. He's really the guy who’s gonna guard Porzingis, and Goga for Georgia, that’s a tough job so we’re gonna need him,” he added.