‘Angry’ Amores faces ban, raps

Jose Rizal University forward John Amores may have already played his last game in the National Collegiate Athletic Association following an ugly brawl with several College of Saint Benilde players during their Season 98 game last Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.

According to a prominent league insider, the powerful NCAA management committee is seriously considering slapping him with indefinite ban after a punching spree that hurt at least three players from Saint Benilde.

Aside from the indefinite ban, the mancomm will also request JRU to encourage Amores to undergo anger management therapy that was similar to what Magnolia forward Calvin Abueva had in 2020 if he wants to get reinstated in the country's oldest collegiate league.

The mancomm was scheduled to sit down with Dax Castellano of Saint Benilde and Paul Supan of JRU to tackle Amores' issue on Wednesday afternoon, but the meeting has yet to start at press time.

"That young man was very angry. He has a big problem. He seriously needs professional help," said the Daily Tribune source, speaking on condition of anonymity in deference to the authority of the 10-man mancomm headed by Estefanio Boquiron, Jr. of host Emilio Aguinaldo College.

"That's why aside from the indefinite suspension, which the mancomm will definitely recommend, they will also ask JRU to have the boy undergo anger management therapy if he wants to be reinstated. His action has no place in our league so he has to deal with our condition if he wants to return."

"We will come up with an inquiry, but we will also ask JRU to conduct an internal probe to get into the bottom of this issue."

The source said the third-year forward was full of rage when he stormed into the Saint Benilde bench and punched everybody who blocked his way.

In fact, Amores was contesting a call with a referee when he spotted a fan behind the Blazers' bench flashing a dirty finger at him.

Amores attacked the fan, but was punched by Mark Sangco, who was trying to stop him.

All hell broke loose from there as Amores knocked down Jimboy Pasturan and Taine Davis with powerful haymakers. He also shoved Miguel Oczon as he was getting restrained by coaches and security personnel.

"He said the referee cursed at him," said the source, a longtime member of the NCAA family.

"Still, it doesn't justify his action. He should have stayed cool and handled the situation properly."

It wasn't the first time for Amores to get involved in an on-court brawl.

Last July, he was slapped with a lifetime ban in the Universities and Colleges Basketball League after punching Mark Gil Belmonte of University of the Philippines.

Amores apologized but Belmonte suffered severe injury in his lower gums and lips.

Saint Benilde coach Charles Tiu said they will not take the incident sitting down.

"It would be tolerable if it was an isolated case. But this already happened in the past so something has to be done," Tiu said, adding that filing criminal charges against Amores is on the table.

"If you look at the sentiments online, everyone wants us to file charges. One of my players told me their parents already told them that they should file charges."

Saint Benilde athletic director Stephen Fernandez affirmed Tiu's statement, saying that they are now coordinating with their legal team.

"An incident like this has no place in college sports," said Fernandez, a former national athlete and prominent member of the Philippine Olympians Association.

"Although we're still consulting with our legal team, we're already considering filing criminal charges. It is already on the table."

Fernandez, who represented the country in the Seoul Olympics in 1988, said they are just waiting for the position of the mancomm and JRU before releasing a statement.

"We're just waiting for word from the league and the school (JRU)," he said.

"But they (JRU) have to be accountable for the actions of their players. They have to do something about this and make sure that this incident will not happen again."