Philippine Basketball Association player John Amores, who was previously banned by a collegiate athletic association before, is facing attempted murder charges for shooting a man after a basketball game.
Reports said the NorthPort player and his brother surrendered to the police on Thursday, September 26, after receiving threats to their life due to the incident.
The police previously conducted a hot pursuit operation after Amores was caught on CCTV firing a gun at the victim identified as Lee Cacalda on Wednesday, September 25.
Investigation revealed that Amores and Cacalda were playing basketball in Barangay Salac, Lumban, Laguna when they got into a heated argument over a contested call.
“Meron silang tawag na hindi napagkasunduan,” Police Major Bob Louis Ordiz, chief of police of the Lumban Municipal Police Station, said to reporters.
“Naghamunan ng suntukan sa Brgy. Salac, then naunang umalis itong suspek natin tapos sumunod iyong victim, hanggang umabot sila sa Brgy. Maytalang at doon sila nagpang-abot. Naghamunan ulit ng another na suntukan,” he added.
“Then, si John Amores ay may dala ng baril at pinaputukan na ‘yung ating victim,” Ordiz continued.
Police said a bet of P4,000 was on the line for the winning team in the basketball game.
Amores was seen disembarking from a motorcycle driven by his brother around Wednesday afternoon before firing at Calcada at the National Road.
The victim was unharmed.
The PBA player and his brother escaped in the direction of Pagsanjan, Laguna before eventually surrendering to the police.
Both are facing charges of attempted murder following the incident. Authorities said Amores had already thrown the firearm he used.
Shirley Cacalda, the victim’s mother, said she is pursuing the case against the Amores siblings.
“Kakauwi lang ng anak ko galing barko, anim, limang araw pa lang dito ‘yan… tapos didisgrasyahin niya. Sa halagang P4,000, papatayin niya anak ko, hindi ako papayag,” she said in an interview.
“Kung ‘yung iba naaareglo niya, ako hindi! Pagagalisin ko ang buong katawan niya doon sa kulungan,” Shirley exclaimed.
‘Manununtok’ to ‘mamamaril’
The incident got some Filipinos remembering another case when Amores made headlines for a similar violent incident.
“Kakapasok lang [into] sa PBA, muntik na nga [matapos] basketball career ng batang ‘to.. ‘di pa nagbago. Nung college days [niya], nanuntok, [ngayon], namamaril na. Kakatakot ka naman,” a Facebook user wrote.
“This guy had a problem since that JRC mauling incident,” another online user wrote. JRC refers to Jose Rizal College, the former name of Jose Rizal University, Amores’ alma matter.
“Si Amores din ba ‘yung dating napaaway sa NCAA. Aba, talaga nga namang SHOOTING GUARD?” wrote a different Facebook user, referring to a postion in a basketball game.
Two years ago, the National Collegiate Athletic Association banned Amores, who was playing for JRU at that time, for punching four players of rival De La Salle-College of St. Benilde during a game.
He also intentionally bumped and pointed a finger at a referee, disrespected a JRU representative and court officials, charged towards CSB’s bench, and made provocative gestures.
Despite drawing flak for the behavior before, Amores received a letter from Vice President Sara Duterte which contained “words of encouragement.”
“Remember the lesson, not the mistake. You have a friend from the Office of the Vice President,” the public official previously said.
Amores shared a picture of the letter on Facebook with a “feeling blessed” status and thanked her for the gesture.
The player previously said he would have the letter framed to remind him that despite his “bashers,” there is somebody else who will make him feel important, even if he does not personally know them.
RELATED: After punching spree, suspended NCAA player John Amores receives letter from Sara Duterte | ‘Violence has no place’: JRU, NCAA suspend John Amores indefinitely after punching spree | NCAA player John Amores’ sportsmanship award photo resurfaces after JRU-CSB brawl
Some Filipinos who learned of the shooting incident remembered Duterte’s gesture to Amores before.
“John Amores, the NCAA player who started a fistfight on the court, was caught attempting to shoot someone today. He’s a PBA player now. He was given a chance to redeem himself. Now he’s a fugitive. Oh and btw [by the way], Sara Duterte sent him a letter of support before. Funny,” an X user commented.
“Friend pa rin kaya siya ni Sara Duterte? Lolz,” another Pinoy commented.
“Wait niyo letter of encouragement from OVP,” wrote a different user.
Meanwhile, before his NCAA rampage, Amores was slapped with a criminal complaint by the UP Fighting Maroons’ Mark Belmonte, who suffered gum fractures, teeth dislocation and mouth lacerations when the former struck him.
UP and JRU had a Universities and Colleges Basketball League (UCBL) game when the incident happened in July 2022.
