Ex-NBA player Stanley Johnson high on B.League teammate Edu

MANILA, Philippines -- Former NBA starter Stanley Johnson had a lot of praise for his new Gunma Crane Thunders teammate and Gilas Pilipinas mainstay AJ Edu. 

Johnson, a former first round pick in the NBA, recently signed with Gunma in the Japan B.League. 

He was part of the team that participated in the Japan B.League Manila Games earlier this week, where the Crane Thunders swept Dwight Ramos and the Levanga Hokkaido in back-to-back preseason games.

Johnson, after Thursday’s match, sang praises to the 26-year-old Edu. 

“I think he adds a lot of size to our lineup, and his rebounding versatility, his finishing, his screen setting and rolling, and I think he's really good at screening angles, especially when a lot of teams like to switch on us as well,” he toldreporters. 

“He impacts our team with hustle plays… It's hard to match up because of his size. If they play a guard on me, you don't really want to switch, and if they play a big, then he's good at getting behind,” he added. 

Johnson also cited an instance during Thursday’s game where Edu flushed down a slam after a double screen, which, the former Detroit Piston said, “happened so fast and we're going the other way.” 

“Not to mention his shot blocking, but I'm excited to play with him just as much as anybody else on the team.” 

Johnson showed out in the Manila Games, tallying 23 points, five rebounds and three assists in the first game. He had 17 points in the second outing. 

Edu himself had three points and seven rebounds in the first game, while he finished with a near double-double of nine markers and nine boards in the second game. 

Gunma coach Kyle Milling also raved about Edu’s improvement in his playmaking.

“AJ's really improved his passing, and everyone talks about how good he is, but last year he had six assists a couple times, five assists, so that's something he's really improving on I think as the time goes by,” he said. 

“All the passing, he's a great passer as well.” 

And as the Manila Games ended, Edu said he is happy that his teammates got a taste of the basketball craze in the Philippines. 

“It's great that they also get to experience at least a taster of it. Obviously, this is not quite like Gilas games, but yeah. I always talk about the passion of Filipino fans, so I'm grateful that my team got to experience that firsthand.”