THE NCAA and Jose Rizal University have already cracked the whip on John Amores by slapping him with separate indefinite suspensions for losing control and punching three College of St. Benilde players during their Season 98 men’s basketball game on Tuesday.
But netizens are questioning whether those bans are enough.
Families of Blazers players are pondering about filing charges against the JRU forward after he went berserk and hit Jimboy Pasturan, Taine Davis, and Migs Oczon late in their game that was abandoned with three minutes and 22 seconds left and St. Benilde up, 71-51.
There is already a pending criminal case against Amores filed by University of the Philippines last September at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office after he hit Fighting Maroons player Mark Gil Belmonte in a UCBL preseason game last July.
In light of this, we’ve compiled a list of other basketball-related fights that almost led to court cases, some almost.
List of basketball-related fights that faced court cases
Wynne Arboleda vs fan
By far, this is the only local incident that went as far as seeing a criminal case getting filed.
In the wake of Wynne Arboleda hitting a cursing fan at courtside of the Burger King-Smart Gilas PBA Philippine Cup game in October 2009, the fan, later identified as Alain Katigbak, took the player to court on counts of physical injury.
The case, though, was dismissed after both parties reached an out-of-court settlement during mediation proceedings.
"A case was filed, but was not pursued," former commissioner Sonny Barrios said. "I suspended Arboleda for the rest of the season."
Arboleda still served a suspension without pay supposedly for the rest of the season but it lasted for just seven months after an appeal and community work. The veteran playmaker also had to pay a P20,000 fine for his two flagrant foul 1s he committed during the game.
Danny I, Ping vs Ginebra fan
A conference before the Arboleda incident, San Miguel stars Danny Ildefonso and Marc Pingris attacked a heckler shortly after Game Two of the 2009 Fiesta Conference Finals against Barangay Ginebra at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Former commissioner Sonny Barrios suspended the two Beermen a game each that forced them miss Game Three of the title series. Ildefonso was also slapped a P30,000 fine and Pingris P10,000.
Barrios recalled the incident and responded to a question if it warranted a season-long suspension instead.
“Hindi ko masasabi, pero siguradong malaking penalty,” Barrios said. “And demanda ang haharapin niya for serious physical injury.”
But all’s well that ends well after the two SMB stars publicly apologized to the fan, San Miguel management, the PBA, and to the public in general.
The three involved parties, alongside Barrios and former league operations chief and technical director Rickie Santos, also met in a coffee shop near the Big Dome to mend fences hours before Game 4 of the finals.
Malice at the Palace
Who can forget about arguably the most infamous brawl in NBA history?
It all started when Indiana's Ron Artest hacked Detroit's Ben Wallace late in a game in November 2004. After Wallace retaliated and other players got involved, Artest ended up lying on the scorer's table. Moments later, a fan threw a beverage cup on Artest, sparking him and teammate Stephen Jackson to head into the stands.
The rest is history.
Five Pacers players and five Pistons fans were charged with different levels of assault and battery. Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal was charged with two counts, while Artest, Jackson, David Harrison, and Anthony Johnson were charged with one count each.
All five players pleaded no contest to the charges, but Artest, Jackson, and O'Neal were all sentenced to one year on probation, 60 hours of community service, a $250 fine, and anger management counseling. Johnson served 100 hours of community service.
Netflix released a documentary about the brawl.
Griggas vs Clauson
Spin.ph columnist and sports lawyer Mickey Ingles recalled an even older incident that led to a court case.
In his latest piece, Ingles cited the 1955 American case Griggas v. Clauson, where La Verne Clauson of Blackhawk Athletic Club Basketball Team suddenly punched Rockford Athletic Club Basketball Team’s Robert Griggas in an amateur game.
In the case, the US court ordered Clauson to pay the injured party over $2,000 in damages.
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