CHICAGO -- Jose Rizal University finally did the right thing when it severed ties with John Amores, a controversial player-turned serial attacker.
The action came 112 days after Amores' first offense last July 26 when he clocked UP's Mark Gil Belmonte during a preseason game at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
I could understand why JRU did not lift a finger on the Belmonte incident.
Amores was already slapped with an indefinite ban by the UCBL and while a criminal case has since been filed against him by the injured Maroon, Amores is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Amores' latest infraction, however, is another matter.
Why did it take a full week for JRU to make a determination that John Amores no longer deserves the privilege to be a Heavy Bomber and a de facto ambassador for the university?
The heinous attack on multiple College of St. Benilde players was Amores' second offense, which also led to two additional criminal complaints against him. He lost all the benefit of the doubt in the flurry of malicious punches he threw.
Mercy could have been a factor in JRU's delaying of the inevitable, but why show compassion to someone who didn't extend the same to his unsuspecting victims?
AND WHERE WAS JRU COACH LOUIE GONZALEZ DURING THE STORM?
Eerily quiet.
The father figure of the basketball program, he should have condemned Amores's actions right away. Refusing to do so could easily be misconstrued that he condoned it.
After the initial punching incident, Gonzalez should have known that there was a lit firecracker on his bench. His staff should have been more vigilant and placed a short leash on the ill-tempered Amores.
The coaching staff failed in their collective roles as surrogate parents to the student-athletes. And Gonzalez failed John Amores.
Eager to hear his side, I called and sent multiple text messages to coach Gonzalez. He chose not to reply.
Although it could have adjudicated the issue much quicker and more decisively, JRU ultimately made the most sensible verdict given the heat the controversy has taken from all corners of the basketball community.
But in the end. It's hard to save face when there are too many broken bones.
CSB RISES ABOVE TURMOIL. Throughout this dark ordeal, little light has been shined on the victims: CSB and the Blazers.
And that needs to change because St. Benilde showed everyone a textbook case of how to handle an adverse situation where violence was raging.
During the welter of Amores' angry rage, the Blazers didn't escalate the fracas beyond what they deemed were acts of self-defense. And while some of their peers were also suspended, they chose not to cry foul and quietly filed a formal protest.
As the voice grew louder calling for Amores' scalp, CSB coach Charles Tiu didn't join the bloody pile and offered only kindness by hoping and praying that Amores gets some "guidance" moving forward.
While lauding his players' restraint, Tiu acknowledged that heckling does happen during games and that the best way to deal with the noise is to "be above it and play."
Shellshocked and undermanned in the game following the JRU melee, CSB eventually nailed a Final Four spot, the school's first appearance in the big dance in the last 20 years.
Nice to see the good guys win.
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