Filipino-American guard Sedrick Barefield is racing against time to make it to the 2022 PBA Rookie Draft.
Multiple sources have told Tiebreaker Times that the 6-foot-2 floor general is working on getting his Philippine passport by April.
It is most likely that the PBA will begin the registration for those interested in entering the draft during the conclusion of the ongoing Governors’ Cup.
Fil-Am Nation Select is already in the process of securing the 25-year-old guard’s Philippine citizenship. His mom Kat is Filipino and is set to obtain her dual citizenship.
A product of University of Utah, Barefield was named to the All-Pac-12 team in 2019 after averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Despite going undrafted in the 2019 draft, Barefield played for Oklahoma City Blue in the 2019-20 G League season, norming 9.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.
He then went on to play for Lithuanian club Nevėžis Kėdainiai and Greek team Apollon Patras.
Now, he is eyeing coming back home.
With the potential addition of Barefield to the draft — the first draft wherein Fil-foreigners are no longer required to Bureau of Immigration certification and Department of Justice affirmation papers, the draft is starting to have a semblance of being a good one. Potentially headlining the class are Jason Brickman, Jeremiah Gray, and Brandon Rosser.
According to multiple sources closely monitoring the situation, Justine Baltazar will be skipping this year’s draft.
