Former Jose Rizal University player John Amores got a new lease on life as he signed with Zamboanga Valientes who are set to see action in the ABL Invitational 2023.
The 6-foot-2 forward is suspended indefinitely in the NCAA due to the punching incident that saw him charge towards the bench of College of St. Benilde during their game.
Amores, since then, has been in hot water with formal complaints being even filed against him. That, however, didn’t stop the Valientes from tapping his services for the tournament set to fire off in January.
“We at Valientes believe in second chances. He is a good player who made a mistake in which he truly regrets. One mistake does not define who you are,” the team said in a statement on Thursday, Dec. 8.
Zamboanga sees Amores, who averaged 9.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 13 games for the Heavy Bombers in NCAA Season 98, as a huge boost to their campaign.
It is certainly a welcome development for Amores who has been trying to walk the right path and amend his mistakes, personally apologizing to the Blazers players he had hurt and accepting the sanctions of the league.
And for that, the Valientes believed that Amores can be a changed man and that he only needs to be given a second chance.
“Before kami naging Valientes, Zamboanga Amores talaga ang moniker namin sa Liga Pilipinas. Amores is love, so we believe na he can be a changed man this time especially kasama niya ang mga Zamboangueno na talagang matatapang pero sa lugar, at yun ang maibibigay na payo namin sa kanya: na okay lang maging matapang sa lugar,” the statement added