Twenty-six people, including 18 basketball players, were rescued after a floating court tore loose from its anchors off Cordova, Cebu, on Thursday evening and drifted 1.4 km (0.9 miles) towards a ferry route. No one was reported seriously hurt, but the platform passed through the channel for 32 minutes before a patrol launch and three local fishing boats guided it to shore.
The court had been built on a steel pontoon for a 3x3 exhibition match, promoted as the first of its kind in the area. A sudden squall brought winds of 42 km/h (26 mph) shortly after 19:00, witnesses said. As the platform swung away from its anchor point, players and officials clung to the rail while the match’s electronic scoreboard continued to display 21-19.
A court adrift in the channel
Xavier Lelievre, a representative of the Cebu Hoops Players’ Guild, said the players had not been told that the court was floating offshore. “This was sold as a show. Nobody should have to wonder whether the floor beneath them is about to drift into a ferry lane,” he said. The guild is calling for a public hearing before the next scheduled exhibition.
A player on shore raised the alarm, and nearby bancas — small outrigger fishing boats common in the Philippines — reached the platform first. The Cebu Provincial Water Patrol said its launch arrived at 19:21 and helped transfer people in small groups. Everyone was ashore by 19:42. The floating scoreboard was recovered separately, still showing the final score.
The patrol’s initial assessment found three heavy mooring lines attached when the court was secured, although organisers had described a four-point anchoring plan. Emma V. Vainola, a patrol operations official, said the team was checking the pontoon’s anchor fittings and the event’s water-access permit. She said the permit on file covered a shore-side viewing area, not a floating sports platform.
Permit under scrutiny
The event had been promoted by the Mactan Bay Games Council, which said the pontoon was designed to hold 40 people. Alfreda T. Medhurst, a council spokesperson, said the organisers were “deeply relieved” everyone was safe and that the court had been inspected before play. She said the group believed its anchoring contractor had completed the agreed work, but would suspend future events until the patrol finished its checks.
The court and event setup cost ₱18 million (about €280,000), according to the council. It had advertised Thursday’s match as the opening of a three-week series, with tickets and sponsorship expected to cover operating costs. The council has cancelled the remaining dates and said it would refund ticket holders; it did not say whether sponsors could recover their payments.
Lelievere’s guild says it wants written safety rules for any sporting event held on water, including a named person responsible for checking every anchor before participants board. The council has agreed to attend a hearing at the Cordova municipal hall next week. The rescued players are expected to resume training on land, but the guild says it will not approve another floating match until the findings are made public.
