SEDRICK Barefield hopes lightning does not strike twice.
The Fil-Am journeyman has again applied for the PBA draft in what he expects to be finally a happy ending for him, giving the rookie pool another potential Top 5 prospect.
Barefield also entered his name in the local draft two years ago, but unfortunately wasn’t approved by the league to be included in the final list of Season 47’s rookie batch.
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Although he has complete papers to back up his eligibility the first time he applied, the league required a hard copy of Barefield’s Filipino passport, a major requirement for Fil-foreign players seeking to apply in the draft.
The Fil-Am player, who had stint with with Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA G League, was in Los Angeles back then, but said the passport had already been transmitted by the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.
The DFA however, failed to print a copy of the passport as the department had to be closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak at that time.
A certification from the consulate was also not possible as the PBA requires a hard copy of the passport itself, prompting the league to strike him out of the final list of draft applicants.
That prompted him to continue playing overseas, taking his act initially to the Tainan TGS GhostHawks in the T1League, and later to the Bay Area Dragons in the EASL Champions Week where he helped the team finish third.
He also had stints with the Guinean club SLAC of the Basketball Africa League and then with the Taipei Fubon Braves in the P. League+, where he eventually got to play in the country as the Braves played the TNT Tropang Giga during Season 1 of the EASL Home and Away season.
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“I’ve dreamt of this moment for sure. I tried not to be nervous or anything like that,” he said of the experience playing before Filipino basketball fans.
“It’s just amazing to receive love I get out here and just be back around family and friends. It’s definitely something I can mark off my goals.”
Curiously, the year Barefield was stricken out of the PBA draft list was the same season potential top pick Justine Baltazar also pulled out of the proceedings to pursue a career overseas.
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