The health of the players was not a priority at the boys’ basketball European Championships.
A wet court ruined a basketball game in Serbia. PDO
Leaky roof, no ventilation and fainting spells. In the under-18 boys’ European basketball championship held in Serbia, the players were put to the test because of the very bad playing conditions.
On the opening day of the games, which started on Saturday, Poland started their work against Turkey in Niš in the gym of a local school. The game immediately became worrisome when the floor was wet due to the leaking roof and the air in the small hall was not changing properly.
Basketball players started the game, but soon realized that the risk of injuries is high. The wet floor was not suitable for a fast game, and the players took turns slipping.
The bad air in the gym was too much for at least one spectator. The Polish Sportowefakty reports that one of the representatives of the Polish team fainted during the game and needed the help of the medical staff.
However, the management of the tournament did not notice a valid enough reason for suspending the game.
In the last quarter of the game, the Pole Jakub Szumert fell wildly on the parquet and was injured. He made it to the bench, but soon lost consciousness. According to ESPN, the player was taken by ambulance to the hospital overnight.
A violent accident led to another kind of farce. Both teams realized that the game was not going to be stopped, so they shook hands as the game went on and refused to run.
The last five minutes of the game saw no changes on the scoreboard. Turkey won 78–63.
The protest had no effect on the program for the rest of the tournament. The Swedish and French teams started in the same hall immediately after the game.
ESPN contacted the International Basketball Federation, Fiba, who responded back that the game should have been suspended. The union is investigating what happened.
Finland also has a team in the boys’ European Championships. The Finns play in the same group as the host Serbia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Slovenia was better in the opening game 78–63 and Serbia in the next 96–72. Finland and the Czech Republic will meet on Monday evening at 19:00.
The video below shows the closing moments of the Poland-Turkey match and Szumert’s fall.