TOLEDO, Ohio - University of Toledo sophomore AJ Edu will play in international competition for a second straight summer when he competes for the Philippines in the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Greece from June 29-July 7. Edu helped the Philippines qualify for this event last year with a fourth-place finish in the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asia Championships in Thailand.

"I don't think there is a greater honor in athletics than representing your country in international competition," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "He's awfully excited to play in an unbelievable tournament against some really good players."

Edu earned a spot on the Mid-American Conference's All-Freshman Team last season after pacing the league with 1.9 bpg in league play and ranking second in overall games with 1.7 bpg. Edu appeared in all 33 games and was a key producer off the bench with 3.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg in 14.3 mpg. He ranked third on UT's season blocked shot list with 57 and swatted away four or more shots on five occasions, including a season-high six vs. Western Michigan (March 5).

"Playing last year in Thailand really helped AJ in his freshman year and the competition he will be facing in Greece is going to be even better," Kowalczyk said. "I think anytime you have a chance to be in a training camp for two or three weeks it is really beneficial. The skill level of the games is going to be really high, and watching him play in these games intrigues me because that's how we play."

Edu played six games during the competition in Thailand, averaging 14.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots. He shot 47.7 percent from the field (31-of-65) and 46.2 percent from three-point range (6-of-13). Edu finished second in the tournament in rebounding and blocked shots as well as third in three-point shooting.

Sixteen teams will compete for the U19 World title and they have been divided into four groups for preliminary, round-robin games. The Philippines were drawn into Group C and will open preliminary play against Greece on June 29, then face Argentina on June 30 and Russia on July 2.

Following the preliminary round, all teams will advance to the Round of 16 on July 3. The winners of the Round of 16 will advance to the medal quarterfinals on July 5, and the losers will play out for ninth-16th places. The semifinals will be played on July 6, and the gold and bronze medal games on July 7.

All games will be available on the International Basketball Federation's (FIBA) YouTube page.

FIBA U19 World Cup
First held in 1979 and known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the U19 World Cup features the world's top 19-year-old and younger players. FIBA holds U19 World Cups every two years.

2019 FIBA Under 19 World Cup Group Game Schedule (Heraklion, Greece)
Saturday, June 29
Mali vs. Latvia, 6:15 a.m. ET – Group B
China vs. Serbia, 6:45 a.m. ET – Group D
Australia vs. Canada, 8:30 a.m. ET – Group B
Puerto Rico vs. France, 9:00 a.m. ET – Group D
Senegal vs. Lithuania, 10:45 a.m. ET – Group A
Argentina vs. Russia, 11:15 a.m. ET – Group C
United States vs. New Zealand, 1:00 p.m. ET – Group A
Greece vs. Philippines, 1:30 p.m. ET – Group C

Saturday, June 30
China vs. France, 6:15 a.m. ET – Group B
Mali vs. Canada, 6:45 a.m. ET – Group D
Puerto Rico vs. Serbia, 8:30 a.m. ET – Group B
Australia vs. Latvia, 9:00 a.m. ET – Group D
United States vs. Lithuania, 10:45 a.m. ET – Group A
Senegal vs. New Zealand, 11:15 a.m. ET – Group A
Argentina vs. Philippines, 1:00 p.m. ET – Group C
Greece vs. Russia, 1:30 p.m. ET – Group C

Tuesday, July 2
China vs. Puerto Rico, 6:45 a.m. ET – Group B
France vs. Serbia, 6:45 a.m. ET – Group B
United States vs. Senegal, 9:00 a.m. ET – Group A
Lithuania vs. New Zealand, 9:00 a.m. ET – Group A
Mali vs. Australia, 11:15 a.m. ET – Group D
Canada vs. Latvia, 11:15 a.m. ET – Group D
Russia vs. Philippines, 1:30 p.m. ET – Group C
Greece vs. Argentina, 1:30 p.m. ET – Group C

Wednesday, July 3
Round of 16

Friday, July 5
Quarterfinals

Saturday, July 6
Semifinals

Sunday, July 7
Finals (Championship, Third Place, Fifth Place, Seventh Place, Ninth Place, 11^th Place, 13^th Place, 15^th Place)