SEVENTY-FIVE have applied but a few notable players have opted to skip the 2022 PBA Rookie Draft.
Jason Brickman, Ricci Rivero, Juan Gomez de Liano and James Kwekuteye are among players who are not on the PBA's initial list.
Brickman, 30, signed an extension with the Kaohsiung Aquas in the T1 League in Taiwan.
The 6-foot court general has been solid in his first year with the Aquas with 13.5 points on 35-percent shooting from deep, to go with 9.9 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 steals to lead the team to a top-seed in the Taiwan league.
Rivero, 23, in his final playing year for the University of the Philippines, is focused on leading the Fighting Maroons to the UAAP Season 84 crown.
The 6-foot-1 slasher is averaging a team-best 13.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.4 steals in 27 minutes of action for the Fighting Maroons.
Gomez de Liano, 22, is coming off a stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the February window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup qualifiers.
Though he was sparingly used in that go round, the 5-foot-11 shooter did show the goods in his run in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers where he got 12.0 points on 47-percent shooting from deep, alongside 3.3 boards and 3.3 assists in June last year before briefly playing for Japan B.League second division team Earthfriends Tokyo Z.
Curiously, both Rivero and Gomez de Liano are garnering significant interest overseas and can test their luck in the international stage.
James Kwekuteye is playing one more year for San Beda.
Kwekuteye, 23, has also chosen to play his final year in San Beda, determined to steer the Red Lions to the NCAA Season 97 crown.
The 6-foot-2 Fil-Canadian currently nets 14.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 assist as the Mendiola crew shift their attention to Mapua in the Final Four.
Overseas-based talents, like Dwight Ramos of the Toyama Grouses and Kobe Paras of the Niigata Albirex BB in the Japan B.League, also did not declare for the draft as they're both expected to be re-signed in Japan, while Ken Tuffin in his second season with the Wellington Saints in the New Zealand NBL.
Also among those eligible to be drafted but chose to hold off their plans include Ateneo's Raffy Verano, UP's Noah Webb, FEU's Brandrey Bienes, Lyceum's Renzo Navarro, and former San Beda center Kemark Carino of the B.League second division club Aomori Wat's.
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