Embattled PBA player Amores involved in gunning incident

NorthPort guard John Amores is again embroiled in a controversy as his name was dragged in a shooting incident in Lumban, Laguna.

The Lumban municipal police department confirmed to the Philippine News Agency on Wednesday night that they are probing the incident in which Amores was said to have pointed a gun and shot a certain Lee Cacalda after a heated altercation that stemmed from a pick-up basketball game.

A CCTV footage showed that at about 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Amores, after alighting a motorcycle driven by a friend, seemingly shot Cacalda to the shock of everyone walking by the main road, which is part of the Manila East Road highway network.

The Pagsanjan native quickly ran away from the crime scene after shooting at Cacalda, who fortunately dodged the bullet.

However, videos of the tussle between Amores and Cacalda surfaced hours later, and they showed Cacalda throwing something in Amores' direction as he was outraged.

Cooler heads were able to prevent Amores and Cacalda from probably throwing punches as they let Amores and his friend depart the barangay basketball court to prevent the fracas from worsening.

The embattled wingman eventually surrendered himself to the Lumban police early Thursday.

The local police said the six-foot-two Amores voluntarily surrendered mainly due to threats he was getting from Cacalda's friends.

Neither the Batang Pier nor the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has issued a statement regarding the matter as of posting.

Amores was already in hot water as early as 2022 when he was involved in a punching incident during a National Collegiate Athletic Association game between Jose Rizal University (JRU) and the College of St. Benilde.

The collegiate league and JRU issued an indefinite suspension to Amores for his actions, prompting him to turn pro.

Already apologetic and has since patched things up with the Blazers, the former Heavy Bomber showed signs of a changed man during his stints with the Zamboanga Valientes in the ASEAN Basketball League and the Muntinlupa Cagers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League the following year.

NorthPort drafted him in the sixth round of the 2023 PBA Draft and was given some playing time at the shooting guard position. (PNA)