Pumaren urges SBP to sanction John Amores

Basketball league governing body Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) should take action against Jose Rizal University (JRU) player John Amores, Quezon City Representative Franz Pumaren said Monday.

Pumaren, who won many basketball championships as a player and as a coach, made the call in reference to last week's NCAA game between the JRU Heavy Bombers and the College of St. Benilde Blazers, when Amores physically attacked other players during the fourth quarter.

Both the NCAA and JRU have slapped indefinite suspensions on Amores and some CSB players have filed physical injury complaints against him, but Pumaren lamented that these may not be enough.

“Amores has not even apologized to the CSB and the players he hurt and traumatized. As it is, he can still play in other tournaments, he can play in the MPBL [Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League] and other minor tournaments. SBP, as the governing arm of the basketball programs in the country, should take action,” Pumaren said in the interpellation in the aftermath of his privilege speech castigating Amores’ actions.

“The SBP should review the penalty with regards to the action of that particular player, including the officials of JRU and the management of their basketball program,” he added.

Pumaren also took offense to videos showing JRU players apparently dancing and smiling after the incident.

"Mr. Speaker, I would also like to call the attention of the coaches and officials of JRU. If you look closely in the clip, there was a school official passing by the players of JRU who were dancing. It is very disturbing how the school officials or coaches of JRU did not even stop them from doing this,” he said.

“Were they proud of what their teammate did to the point that they were dancing as if it was not a grave matter? Is this how they discipline their players? It is such a shame if this is how they train and  discipline their players. In any event that violent acts are involved, it should already be understood that the gravity of the situation is a serious matter,” Pumaren added.

JRU has apologized for Amores' actions, and said that it will conduct an internal inquiry as well as cooperate with the NCAA's investigation.

Pumaren said such actions adds insult and makes a mockery of the injury inflicted on CSB players.

“Based on this video, it is not pleasing to the eyes, especially to the younger ones who adore basketball players and watch basketball games as well. We should not allow future  generations to think that it is okay to engage in such brutal acts. There should be no place for violence, in any event, especially sports,” he said.

“Mr. Speaker, as a former player and coach of the Philippine Basketball Association and the collegiate basketball league, I hope that these occurrences will be a learning  experience for them not to repeat the same mistakes that have been committed.  Basketball is one of the sources of national pride for our country, and we should not tolerate these acts,” Pumaren added.

Sought for comment, SBP referred to its November 10 statement that its officials have "discussed the shared view of condemning on-court violence, adoption of preventive measures to avoid a repetition of the deplorable incident, including a review of security protocols, and meting out the necessary sanctions in a fair manner." — BM, GMA Integrated News