Blazers get win after game cut short by Amores rampage

An ugly commotion between JRU Heavy Bombers and St. Benidle Blazers halted the NCAA Season 98 match. –NCAA PHOTO

College of St. Benilde (CSB) made Jose Rizal University (JRU) look ugly with a 71-51 rout in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament on Friday.

It was John Amores, however, who made the Heavy Bombers look trashier.

Amores, already serving an indefinite ban in a minor league for on-court violence, lost his cool and assaulted several St. Benilde players, knocking one down with a vicious sucker punch, as officials were forced to call a halt to play with 3:24 left in the game.

“The person involved has been in the same situation before […] It happens, basketball is physical, but I don’t think there’s any need to charge across the bench if he was being heckled by somebody. I pray for Amores and just, bless his soul,” St. Benilde coach Charles Tiu said.

Prior to the NCAA’s 98th season, Amores threw a punch at University of the Philippines’ Mark Gil Belmonte during a Universities and Colleges Basketball League preseason tournament. The league has banned him indefinitely.

“It’s an unfortunate situation but in a way, I’m proud that, for the most part, our guys held it together and didn’t fight back,” Tiu said. “To us, we’re just trying to play basketball and our goal is to win a championship. We’re not out there trying to start fights.”

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Davis clocked

St. Benilde Blazers’ Taine Davis staggers after taking a punch from John Amores. –NCAA PHOTO

Among those who tried to keep the peace was St. Benilde’s Taine Davis, who was in the act of pacifying the melee when he was clocked anyway by Amores. Davis lay unconscious on the floor for a few minutes. The JRU standout also struck Jimboy Pasturan in the eye and shoved Migz Oczon. All three were taken to the hospital for further tests.

“Jimboy got a big black eye, Taine Davis got sucker punched and got dizzy for a while. Oczon, who was not doing anything, almost got punched. Thankfully, they’re okay but we’ll take them to the hospital to see if they sustained anything worse,” said Tiu.

“Amores got angry and he started going on a rampage, running towards our bench,” Davis said.

“I was trying to protect my teammates, I asked the ref, ‘what’s going on?’ and next thing you know, Jimboy got punched in the eye.”

“I was just trying to break it up and next thing you know, I didn’t see where it was coming from but I got hit right in the chin,” he added.

Pasturan had 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. Will Gozum also finished with a double-double for CSB with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Amores’ beef was actually with St. Benilde’s Mark Sangco, who he had an altercation with before he ran amok.

In the other game, Emilio Aguinaldo College held off Perpetual Help, 59-53.