A BUMPER crop of incoming freshmen led by potential first-round picks Filipino American Sedrick Barefield, former Gilas Pilipinas members Justin Baltazar, RJ Abarrientos, Sean Dave Ildefonso and Ben Philips, along with UAAP champions CJ Cansino, Evan Nelle and Francis Escandor of La Salle headline the 2024 PBA Rookie Draft set on July 14.

A total of 70 rookie hopeful managed to beat the deadline for application on Thursday, with former Adamson playmaker Jerom Lastimosa, Filipino American wingman Caelan Tiongson, CJ Catapusan, Paul Garcia and San Beda's Peter Alfaro, among the other key talents that threw their hat into the annual draft.