GILAS Pilipinas big man Justine Baltazar and PBA 3x3 star Brandon Ganuelas Rosser head the list of 75 players testing their luck in the 2022 PBA Rookie Draft next Sunday.
Baltazar is coming off a solid final year with La Salle in the UAAP Season 84, helping the Archers to the Final Four where they bowed to twice-to-beat University of the Philippines.
See Rosser, Gray, Barefield, Arana, Baltazar among rookies on Blackwater radar
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Jeremiah Gray are eligible this year due to the revised rules that accepts Philippine passport as proof of citizenship, as well as Fil-Am guard Sedrick Barefield.
Ganuelas-Rosser and Gray, who played for Limitless Appmasters and the TNT Tropang Giga respectively, flashed their potential in the PBA 3x3, while Barefield is seeking to strut his stuff in the country after previously being courted to play for Gilas Pilipinas.
Another Gilas player in the draft pool is Javi Gomez de Liano, who returns to the Philippines after a season with the Ibaraki Robots in the Japan B.League.
Arellano center Justin Arana, Letran forward Jeo Ambohot, San Sebastian banger JM Calma, and NU winger Shaun Ildefonso are also making strong cases for themselves.
Gian Mamuyac, as well as his Ateneo peers Tyler Tio and BJ Andrade, UST/St. Clare's Joshua Fontanilla, and La Salle's Encho Serrano and Jollo Go spearhead the top guards in the initial list.
The league released the initial list on Sunday, a day after the deadline where it drew a surprising turnout despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Actually, hindi ko in-expect na aabot ng 75 dahil sa pandemic at iba pang factors; mga 50 of 60 lang ang estimate ko after nung record 90 last season," said commissioner Willie Marcial.
The final list will be released after the Draft Combine this May 11 and 12 at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong.
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