By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Controversial Jose Rizal University (JRU) swingman John Amores will be making his highly-anticipated return to the basketball court after being slapped with an indefinite ban in the NCAA.
Amores had a surprising call-up from the Zamboanga Valientes and already signed a fresh contract for the whole playing year of 2023.
Zamboanga is currently competing in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) and will already kick off its campaign this upcoming January 2023 when the team joins the ABL Invitational tourney.
Amores can already resume playing basketball next month and will attempt to prove his doubters wrong when Zamboanga takes on Louvre Indonesia.
“We at Valientes believe in second chances. He is a good player who made a mistake in which he truly regrets. One mistake does not define who you are,” said team manager Nino Rejhi Natividad.
Amores went viral after an on-court berserk in an NCAA game where he rushed to the bench of the College of Saint Benilde (CSB) Blazers and knocked down two players with solid punches to their faces.
Before his shocking improper conduct in the NCAA regular season, Amores already faced a prior physical injury complaint when he punched UP Fighting Maroons commit Mark Gil Belmonte several months ago.
Belmonte suffered a gum fracture, teeth dislocation, and mouth lacerations caused by Amores which forced the university to file a complaint.
“Before we were the Valientes, we were really the Zamboanga Amores. Amores is love, so we believe he can be a changed man this time especially around Zamboanguenos who are brave, but know how to act accordingly,” added Natividad.
