NCAA: JRU’S JOHN AMORES DOES IT AGAIN, GOES ON RAMPAGE
MANILA -- John Amores, a former National Collegiate Athletic Association juniors basketball Sportsmanship awardee, once again, blew his top.
ON-COURT ALTERCATION: JRU Bomber John Amores is caught in photo about to throw a punch at some Benilde players during an on-court altercation. The game was called with the Blazers getting the victory even as the Bombers absorbed their seventh loss in 13 games. (Photo courtesy of Robert Garcia)
MANILA — John Amores, a former National Collegiate Athletic Association juniors basketball Sportsmanship awardee, once again, blew his top.
And perhaps, it’s about time for everyone to forget about that sportsmanship award and replace it with another.
Actually, College of Saint Benilde had it all wrapped up at 71-51 over Jose Rizal College at the Filoil EcoOil Center on Tuesday when play was stopped by game officials at the 3:22 mark moments after Amores blew his top and charged at several Blazers players.
As he was at it, Amores threw punches left and right, here and there, throwing yet again the fabled collegiate league into the abyss of notoriety.
This all started after Migs Oczon nailed a trey for that 20-point Benilde advantage (71-51) that Amores and Chris Flores went down on the floor and the referees blew the whistle to prevent further chaos.
As he was being cooled down, Amores was pointing at someone at the Blazers’ side and all hell broke loose. Benilde’s Mark Sangco threw a punch at the charging Amores but missed.
Absorbing heavy hits from Amores’ right hand, Taine Davis and Jimboy Pasturan lay down on the sidelines. Amores also punched Oczon, but the Benilde guard was able to escape harm.
Amores was immediately escorted out of the court immediately after all the damage he had done in the league’s worst on-court violence since the Emilio Aguinaldo College-Mapua late second-round elimination round match in 2014.
Several players from the Generals and the Cardinals received multiple suspensions as a result of the brawl.
The game was eventually called, and the Blazers were awarded the victory, raising their record to 10-3 in second place, while sending the Bombers to their seventh loss in 13 games, giving a huge blow to their Final Four aspirations. The league also will conduct further investigation into the incident.
It was not the first time Amores figured in this kind of heated situation. In a preseason tournament a few months ago, Amores also attacked the University of the Philippines player Mark Belmonte and had to undergo oral surgery. (ai/mtvn)
