John Amores.
What the hell, man?
If Beau Belga is the voice of reason, then you're done for.
The dude went coast to coast to unleash savage bombs that landed on the faces of Jimboy Pasturan and Taine Davis. Prior to this, he was about to go nuts on Mark Sangco, and before getting the boot off the court, he shoved Migs Oczon.
Now I don’t want to say that the Benilde Blazers are the chilliest team in the NCAA but they were too nice to let Amores come to their side of the arena, rain down a bunch of haymakers, and leave the court unscathed.
I remember when Jay Mendoza did a similar thing against Ginebra. He was fighting against Wilmer Ong but instead of settling to the Shell bench, he just “strolled” to the Ginebra bench where he was met by the fists of Noli Locsin and the rest of the Kings. In some ways, it’s a dumb move.
HOWEVER...
He invaded and took a battalion of punches and in return, Ginebra had additional fines and suspensions.
The Pasturan punch is accidental and while we can give the Oczon shove as self-defense to his action, the Taine Davis punch is a cheap shot. Davis was not a threat there and his reaction to the action says it all. Amores has issues – as this is not the first time he has ever done this and it’s a shame considering that he is one of JRU’s top players this season. All the while I have been looking at JL Delos Santos, Ryan Arenal, and Jason Celis to lead their charge when all of a sudden, we have the likes of Ry Dela Rosa, Joshua Guiyab, and Amores coming out as somewhat surprise packages.
No question, Amores is going to get the boot. The cheap shot to Davis and the reaction of Pasturan after the punch are in question. Amores never went to the Benilde bench to verbally spar and because of his actions, the league decided to stop the match. The referee who cursed Amores is also in trouble because it’s his action that drove this anger-fuelled machine to full throttle.
Amores is not a semi-pro player in a community-based league. If my memory serves me right, the San Juan Gym is a school extension for the ballers, and fights are frowned upon on school premises. Amores can still continue his basketball career in the semi-pro leagues but this is going to be a stain on his resume.
I don’t know if the PBA still needs a diploma for a draft application but historically, NCAA players are either first-round shoo-ins or third to fifth-round selections. In the most recent draft, EAC’s team captain Marwin Taywan went undrafted and the popular CJ Cadua was the last player picked. Ato Ular is one player remembered by the coaches and scouts even if he never played in NCAA Season 97 but even back in Season 95, the former NCAA champion and Blackwater Bossing is a credible inside force. The verdict is still out if Amores is that kind of player.
I think Amores needs to undergo counseling. The dude has too much anger stored. JRU as a team needs to get a talk as well because last season, they were dead last in the standings and they were never pegged as gung-ho brawlers.
It's hard to not retaliate like crazy on the remaining JRU players, especially if your teammates are dropping within seconds. Kudos to the Benilde Blazers for keeping it cool as well as the rest of the JRU Heavy Bombers for just acting as they did. It's easy for players to brawl when there is a player spamming on the punches.
John Amores?
He should be happy if he's given a suspension.