CONTROVERSIAL basketball player John Amores can no longer play in the PBA and other professional leagues.

The Games and Amusement Board (GAB), headed by Chairman Francisco Rivera, made the announcement after revoking the license of Amores “for conduct unbecoming of a professional basketball player.”

In a six-page decision signed by Rivera and commissioners Manuel Plaza III and Angel Bautista, the GAB said the respondent’s license is revoked effective immediately.

“This means that Amores is :no longer allowed to participate in any professional basketball game sanctioned by the board, including the PBA,” according to a report which first appeared in the Philippine Star.

The GAB, the government supervisory body in professional sports, said it has concluded its investigation into the NorthPort player after his involvement in a shooting incident in Lumban, Laguna in September.

The 25-year-old Amores was accused of firing his gun at another man after a basketball game; attempted homicide complaints were subsequently filed against him and his brother.

The Amores siblings are currently out on bail.

The GAB verdict followed an earlier decision by the PBA to suspend Amores for one conference without pay “for conduct detrimental to the league.”

PBA Commissioner WIllie Marcial also instructed Amores to address his “anger and violent tendencies.”

Before the Lumban incident, Amores also made headlines when he ran amok during a game by Jose Rizal University against College of St. Benilde in NCAA Season 98.

Amores also previously figured in an altercation against Mark Belmonte of the University of the Philippines in 2022.

Last year, Amores was still taken as No. 51 overall by the NorthPort Batang Pier in the 2023 PBA Rookie Draft.

After his suspension from the league, Amores reportedly even joined the Batang Pier in an outreach program for victims of severe tropical storm Kristine.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya