THERE will be no shortage of new faces for several schools when the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball tournament kicks off in a few months.
From some of the best rookies fresh out of high school, to the most exciting transferees coming, expect these men to create instant impact for whichever school they'll be playing for.
Here, Spin.ph runs down all the expected new faces bound to see action on Season 88.
La Salle: Jacob Cortez, Kean Baclaan, Mason Amos, Luis Pablo, LeBron Daep, Guillian Quines
All eyes will be on La Salle entering this season as they now brandish their major acquisitions from two years ago alongside some of the best recruits out of high school.
With their backcourt essentially their achilles heel when they lost the Season 87 crown to UP, they'll have two of the best guards in college today in former San Beda star Jacob Cortez, and ex-National University ace Kean Baclaan.
Armed with championship experience in the NCAA, the 22-year-old Cortez now hopes to replicate what his father Mike did in his time with the Green Archers - win a UAAP championship.
He'll have all the help he can get in the backcourt as he teams up with Baclaan, one of the most skilled players in college today, and a player with plenty of chip in his shoulders.
READ: Online hit Kean Baclaan proving he can shine in a system at La Salle
But they won't be coming alone.
Former Ateneo big and Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Mason Amos and former NCAA Juniors MVP Luis Pablo are also now eligible for coach Topex Robinson's squad, forming a formidable frontine alongside their leader in 'Motor Mike' Phillips.
Aside from the four, La Salle also flexes two of the best high school players today after snagging NCAA Season 100 Juniors basketball tournament conference and finals MVP LeBron Daep, and the high-scoring Guillian Quines to the fold.
Daep had averages of 15.44 points, 8.33 rebounds, 1.33 assists, 1.78 steals, and 1.0 block per game in the said season while Quines put up 25.0 points, 5.38 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.77 steals per game as he towed La Salle Greenhills to a runner-up finish.
UST: Collins Akowe, Koji Buenaflor, Charles Bucsit
While La Salle certainly got a haul, University of Santo Tomas may have gotten the biggest recruit this season -- at least for the long term.
The Growling Tigers secured the commitment of National University-Nazareth School standout Collins Akowe and he's already eligible to play for coach Pido Jarencio this season.
The 6'10 Nigerian put up averages of nearly 21 points, 19.2 reboundse and 1.8 blocks per game to lead the Bullpups to a runner-up finish against the the UST Tiger Cubs.
READ: 6-10 Akowe eager to help out 'championship contender' UST
Even better for UST? The tandem who led the Tiger Cubs to a championship and denied Akowe and the Bullpups the crown in Koji Buenaflor and Charles Bucsit also commited to them.
With the 6'10 Akowe, 6'7 Buenaflor manning the paint for the Tigers in years to come, complemented by a promising scorer in Bucsit, the future looks oh so bright for University of Santo Tomas.
Adamson: Earl Medina
Adamson always seems to miss out on the major recruits - as they've lost two of the core players in the Baby Falcons championship run in UAAP Season 86 to National University when Tebol Garcia and Vince Reyes joined the Bulldogs.
At least this year, they got a member of that championship team to join them in the seniors rank.
Earl Medina, also a member of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth, has affirmed his commitment to the Falcons.
READ: Earl Medina proving he's ready for a rotation spot with Adamson
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard produced an average of 11 points, 6.71 rebounds, 3.07 assists, 2.14 steals, and 1.57 blocks per game in Season 87, where the Baby Falcons once again made the Final Four.
In the Playtime Cares Filoil Preseason Cup, Medina is already seeing major minutes in coach Nash Racela's rotation.
UP: Noy Remogat, Miguel Palanca
After a year of residency, former UAAP Season 86 Mythical Team member Noy Remogat will now be bolstering University of the Philippines' title defense for UAAP Season 88.
The UAAP Season 86 Mythical Team member will have a year working with veteran guards like Gerry Abadiano, Terrence Fortea and Harold Alarcon before he eventually takes the mantle as UP's main man in the backcourt.
The Fighting Maroons also injected young blood in their roster with the arrival of former Bullpup Miguel Palanca.
READ: UP just filled its big void with this 6-7 youngster. Find out who
Initially committing to the Bulldogs, Palanca took a U-turn and drove all the way to Diliman to join the Fighting Maroons where he's expected to see major minutes following the departure of forwards Francis Lopez and Aldous Torculas.
The 19-year-old finished with 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in his final year.
FEU: Liam Salansang
Wrapping up the list is a very underratted pick up for the FEU Tamaraws as they elevated Baby Tamaraws standout Liam Salangsang to the seniors team.
The combo guard and second generation baller son of formber PBA player Allan is the latest Baby Tam to graduate and move onto coach Sean Chambers' team, with the Diliman-Morayta pipeline still proving to be running.
Salangsang adds sharpshooting to Chambers' squad, while giving him an opportunity to learn the ropes from the Tamaraws' main man in Jorick Bautista.
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