Appeals have been sent out following a bench-clearing incident involving members of the College of St. Benilde Blazers and the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers on the eve of their next game in the 98th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.
Olympic taekwondo bronze medallist and now CSB sports development director Stephen Fernandez said this as they dealt with the sanctions handed down by the NCAA management committee following Tuesday’s commotion at the FilOil-EcoOil Arena in San Juan.
“We are appealing our case before the management committee,” said Fernandez, who was present and nearby when Heavy Bomber guard John Amores rushed to the Blazers’ bench and knocked out two of four CSB players he assaulted.
Fernandez said they have asked the mancom to ease the penalties that were given to two of the three CSB players penalized since they did not participate in the fight, were just defending themselves and did not retaliate.
Slapped with two-game suspensions were Blazers Mark Sangco and CJ Flores, who the mancom said, were part of the brawl. Their teammate Ladis Lepalam was slapped a one-game suspension for entering the playing court.
“At least, from two games (suspension) to one. Or sana wala na, which is impossible,” added Fernandez, referring to the cases of Sangco and Flores.
In a fit of rage, Amores punched and knocked down Taine Davis and Jimboy Pasturan, while Mark Sangco and Migz Oczon remained unscathed from the attack.
The incident took place while Fernandez, a legend in taekwondo in the 58kg class during his time stood by, kept his cool and made effort to pacify personnel at the bench.
Amores was later suspended indefinitely by the mancom, along with 11 other JRU players. He will no longer play for the remainder of the season, nor participate in team practices following additional penalties imposed on him by the university.
Fernandez said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Sonny Barrios has also reached out on Thursday morning to board member Dax Castellano of CSB and JRU’s mancom representative Paul Supan, and discussed the incident with them.
Barrios talked to the two NCAA officials about “the shared view of condemning on-court violence, adoption of preventive measures to avoid a repetition of the deplorable incident, including a review of security protocols, and meting out the necessary sanctions in a fair manner. “
SBP president Al Panlilio has also condemned the acts of violence in the ongoing season.
In a statement, Panlilio said, “the SBP strongly condemns acts of on-court violence in basketball, whether it is directed towards a player, an official, or a fan.”
“We in SBP are one with NCAA in its direction to proactively take the appropriate steps to move the league forward in a professional manner and positively address the issues at hand for the benefit of NCAA and the sport of Basketball.”